Way at the back of the line in Marion’s cleanup efforts this fall has been the Marion Open Space Acquisition Commission’s requests for assistance in moving along its Point Road Path project.
Seeing no pathway through the debris along the side of Point Road, MOSAC Chairman John Rockwell decided to take a short cut, and in the commission’s December 2 meeting he told members that he had talked to Dave Jenney who, as a “single practitioner” is not subject to the prevailing-wage law.
“I asked him what he could do clearing out that first 1,000 feet, and he said his daily rate is $950 a day. So I thought, we do have money in our budget for this work and I thought, let’s get him for one day and see what progress we make, and then we’ll have an idea what it’ll cost for this whole 3,500 feet there, not including the big trees or stump removal,” explained Rockwell.
The plan is to clear out a 14-foot-wide swath of medium-size trees and brush and thereby make room for larger equipment. Expectations on a timeline were tempered by the additional trees taken down by the storm that caused massive power outages across the region in late October.
“I know if he had some helping hands pulling brush out of the way, that would help move things along,” said Rockwell. “Rather than trying to get a contract and going through the contract basis and writing up bid specs … he’s done work for us in the past, and I’ve been very impressed by it.”
MOSAC member Debbie Ewing agreed with the direction.
“If he only gets 50 feet, then we can extrapolate out, but if he gets 1,000 feet done, then we know how much it’s going to cost to do the whole 3,000 feet,” said Rockwell, who added that Jenney’s machine can turn the smaller debris into little bits. “Anything less than 2 inches, he’s just going to turn into dust.”
Rockwell hopes a couple of chainsaw-wielding helpers can support the effort by following along and removing smaller limbs. “Cutting stuff, that’s actually pretty easy. It’s getting stuff out of the way (that’s the challenge,)” he said.
Listening in, former MOSAC member Alan Harris suggested a volunteer workday to augment Jenney’s effort.
With plans to be back in Marion last week, Rockwell and Ewing were to meet to stake out the next 1,000 feet of the Point Road Path.
Harris told the commission that signs reading “No Motorized Vehicles” were removed from Goldavitz Bog. He requested MOSAC labels to accompany the signs when replaced. He also “retroactively asked” for MOSAC’s permission to place a sign on behalf of the Sippican Lands Trust that asks visitors to wear orange and to pick up after their dogs. Rockwell and Ewing welcomed the idea.
“And just to calm anyone who might watch this, we have many sportsmen, very low incidents of any negative interaction,” said Harris. “It’s always good, though, to wear orange.”
G.A.F. Engineering flagged out the wetlands for Great Swamp Trail fire access, according to Rockwell, who said he checked it out and received positive feedback from Conservation Agent Doug Guey-Lee. Looking to spread a couple of loads of gravel, MOSAC planned to file a Request for Determination of Applicability (RDA) with the Conservation Commission.
Ewing volunteered to represent MOSAC on Marion’s Community Preservation Committee. The CPC fields applications for grant funding from private and public projects related to community preservation.
“The only skill is cutting through the B.S. on the grant applications,” said Rockwell, who said the expedient way to judge a project is to go straight to the budget page and see if the plan has a chance to succeed based on evidence of research.
MOSAC member Amanda Chace supported Ewing’s representation to the CPC, saying it would give her the opportunity to learn about what the other boards and committees in town are doing. The commission voted 3-0 in favor.
The commission did not schedule its next meeting at adjournment.
Marion Open Space Acquisition Commission
By Mick Colageo