In spite of a wintery weather mix of freezing rain, snow, sleet and the darkness of 6:00 pm in January, some 40-plus people attended the public meeting held by Mattapoisett’s Holy Ghost Grounds Reuse Committee. The committee chair had used local print media and social media to get the word out that their attendance would help the town plan the future of the 7-acre public land.
Chairman Mike Rosa, along with volunteers Nathan Ketchel (Planning Board member and committee vice chairman), Freemin Bauer, Nicky Miller, Jack Hill, Denise Conton (clerk), Greta Fox (Recreation Department director) and Aaron Goldberg, had been charged by the Select Board to gather community input and ideas on how the town should use the parcel.
Before getting into the data details, Rosa gave a brief historical retrospective of the property, noting the 1943 ownership by the Holy Ghost Society, 2016 purchase by the YMCA and the town’s acquisition in 2016.
Rosa further noted that future plans include the passage of the bike path through the grounds along the railroad easement where restrooms have been restored and made ADA compliant (handicapped accessible.) He also clarified that there is currently no budget for work at the property. A look at the 10-year capital plan does not list any projects on the site.
The chairman also made it clear that this committee would not be making decisions or offering opinions regarding possible uses. He pointed out the committee’s duties as: identifying a range of potential uses through public input, holding public information session(s) and finally preparing a report for the Select Board to review.
A survey that generated some 550 responses (primarily from full or part-time residents) was held between August and September. The survey gauged respondents’ positive or negative views on different activities, resulting in a healthy response from a wide range of age groups.
A dog park and pickleball courts received high positive scores. However, balancing out that number was a nearly equal amount against those purposes. Positively favored activities that did not illicit negative pushback were a playground, picnic area and walking loop, among others.
Attendees thought it might be best to think about passive activities such as a picnic area or playground before considering others which might cause conflict or high expense.
Ray Hanks, chairman of the newly formed Cemetery and Memorials Committee, said it is important to maintain Barlow Cemetery, which is located within the property.
Rachel McGourthy, chairman of the Historical Commission, said that the commission was in the second phase of identifying historical assets in the town and that the Holy Ghost Grounds was on the “priority one” list.
The next step for the committee is to produce a report for the Select Board, which will complete the committee’s to-do checklist.
Holy Ghost Grounds Reuse Committee
By Marilou Newell