Horse Hill Nature Preserve Sub Committee of MCC

Horse Hill Nature Preserve Sub Com= mittee of MCC

Meeting minutes<= /b>

February 5, 2007=

Members Prese= nt: Tim Tenhave, Debra Huffman, Helynne Wenz, Connie Kreider, Newton Coryell, and Denise O’Dwye= r

Call to Order= : Chairman Tim Tenhave called the meeting to order at 7:33 p.m.

Announcements= : Tim thanked the eight volunteers who showed up on the recent trail work day= and stated that a lot was accomplished. The GPS marking made that day can be vi= ewed at www.hhnp.org under the Announcement= s.

Tim reminded everyone that it is town meeting season, = with Deliberative Session in March and voting in April. February 13^th= is the deadline for petitioned warrant articles, but there are no articles impacting Horse Hill at this time.

Debra Huffman reminded committee members that hunting = safety zone signs are available and encouraged those who are concerned about hunti= ng to contact the committee.

Update on the= Trail Walks: Debra stated that the January walk had a very good turnout but t= he February walk turned into a tail work day because the only residents who sh= owed up were people who work on the trails anyway.

Connie Kreider stated that she will continue sending n= otices to all the local newspapers for the monthly trail walks to encourage reside= nts to join in.

Update on the= Kiosk: Tim announced that the Merrimack Conservation Commission (MCC) approved the panels for the kiosk with a few adjustments. Andy Powell suggested a third panel. Debra asked if the text was small enough to fit a map. Ernie Buck approved the wording for the = panels and told Tim how to get the panels made.

Update from t= he MCC: Tim distributed the new signs the MCC has developed to mark boundaries of t= own open space properties like Horse Hill and Grater Woods. Tim would like to G= PS all the known boundary points, then work with abutters in placing the bound= ary signs.

Andy would like to eventually place tree identification signs on some trails. Connie stated that she would like to brainstorm about where to place benches for scenic vistas. Lynne Wenz stated that she would = like a sign to identify the mountains that can be viewed from the top of Blodgett Hill.

Depending on how much money is left in the budget, the= MCC would like to get some of the boundaries surveyed , but most will have to wait for next fiscal year. Andy is working on the details with surveyors.

The Town Council approved applying for a grant to cons= truct the trail at Grater Woods. Tim got a copy of the application and is wonderi= ng if this would be a good source of funds for the bridges needed on some trai= ls. The grant process would need to be started in September for an early January deadline.

Old Kings Highway Project: The Heritage Commission will present their plan to the Town Council in March and they would like a letter of support from the Horse Hill committee. Phase 1 would be to reclassify the road as an emergency lane. It would still be a class six road, but the town would have the authority to f= ix the ruts. They would like to bring the road back to how it was built in the 1600's, using materials from around the road, such as taking material from = the berm under the power lines.

After the road is fixed, then it could be left as an emergency access or reclassified as a Class A trail and gates could be installed on both ends.

Ruth Roulx has talked to the Watanic Bowman president = and they will discuss this plan at their next meeting. She has a letter of supp= ort from the Fire and Police Departments, and she will be talking to the MCC on= the 26^th to present the full plan.

After considerable discussion, on a motion by Debra wi= th a second by Newton Coryell, it was decided to send a letter of support but wi= th the recommendation that gates should be installed at the start of the maintenance project, and also stating that the committee would like an individual to be assigned the duty of oversight to ensure that it is built = as an historical road, as Ernie Buck envisions. The vote passed unanimously, w= ith the understanding that the final wording will be distributed by e-mail and = the e-mail chain of approval will be entered into the committee's record.

Trail Map= : Tim distributed the new trail map and discussed how it was created and the difficulty of not having access to the ArcView tool. The Community Developm= ent department will identify a street address for the parking lot. Debra stated that between points seven and eight the trail does not yet exist. They need= one more work day to finish the cut over, then a day on the seven-eight trail. =

Sign Posts: Tim distributed a list of sign post wording and trail uses. Connie mentioned th= at there had been many cars at the Palmeri Dr cul de sac and the committee sho= uld put up a sign there advising visitors that this is an unmaintained trail and directing them to the parking lot. The DPW will make the posts and the Horse Hill committee will install them.

Brochure:= Debra distributed a first draft of a brochure that included the trail map and tra= il descriptions. Tim stated that final edits will be made and the committee wi= ll vote on the finalized brochure at the March meeting. Tim asked Debra to sha= re the map with the mountain bike group to be sure the bike trail is close to where they envision it.

It was suggested to include a comments section on the brochure and ask visitors to note any hazards they see and deposit the broc= hure back in the drop-box. The committee would rotate responsibility to pick up = the brochures.

Trail Work Da= ys: It was decided to try having a work day on a Saturday to see if it attracts= a different group of people. New= ton and Debra will work on Sunday, February 11^th, then general work = days will be held on February 17^th and on February 24^th. <= /p>

Newton stated that he would like photos of the bridge locations to show to the Bur= eau of Trails and ask their recommendation for designs for bridges.

Approval of M= inutes: The minutes of November 20^th were approved with minor adjustment= s by a vote of 6-0-0. The minutes of December were approved with comments by a v= ote of 5-0-1.

Comments:= Debra stated that the Eagle Scout bridge-building project is still in the planning phase.

Tim stated that he would like to speak with the Watanic Bowmen to establish a permit process for their shoots.

Tim stated that at the March meeting there will be an = agenda item to discuss rules.

Adjournment:<= /b> The meeting was adjourned at 9:47 p.m.