Marion’s Master Plan sub-committee for open space collaboration is closing in on its mission and agenda of activities that founding members hope to accomplish by uniting the nine groups in town that hold and manage open space – even though the only elected committee, the Marion Open Space Acquisition Commission, has not been as enthusiastic about the endeavor as others might be.
This Master Plan sub-subcommittee focusing on open spaces in town is close to submitting its formal request to the Board of Selectmen to approve a new town entity named the Stewards of Community Open Space Collaboration.
The collaboration would be comprised of one representative from the nine separate public and private entities in Marion that hold and manage open space and conservation land in the town.
The initial member organizations would be the Conservation Commission, Marine Resources Commission, Pathways Committee, Planning Board (although the Planning Board does not manage public property, it is tasked with the development of the new Master Plan), Open Space Acquisition Commission, Recreation Department, Tree & Parks Committee, Trustees of Washburn Park, and the Sippican Lands Trust.
Tree & Parks Committee member Margie Baldwin likened the collaboration to the Community Preservation Committee, a mixture of different groups in town.
“We’re not trying to do anybody’s job, but to be a resource for all the different groups to come together … and we have a common interest in the town,” said Baldwin.
On March 8, members of these groups met to fine-tune the activities that SoCOS is endeavoring to undertake together as an advisory board of sorts, listing them out for the selectmen to consider.
Those activities include, but are not limited to, creating an inventory of public and private Marion open space parcels and easements, documenting the features of the properties, coordinating open space stewardship programs to improve long-term maintenance, and collaborating with other groups working towards acquisitions.
The group will work closely with town departments, boards, and committees to make open space accessible for recreational use, as well as draft a plan to incorporate and implement the proposed activities through surveys, workshops, and other public sessions.
“This is not meant to be a group with executive powers,” said Tinker Saltonstall. “It’s an advisory. It’s getting people to talk a few times a year about how they want to steward their lands.”
Other ideas for the collaboration were to meet monthly as needed, and perhaps implement a “rotating chair” policy where each month the meeting would be chaired by a different one of the nine groups represented.
By Jean Perry