By Kim Siebert MacPhail
The Selectmen heard a proposal on Monday evening that could circumvent local wetland obstacles that are delaying the creation of athletic fields on the former St. Michael’s property now owned by the town.Town Manager Rick Reed, together with DPW Director Rich Warrington and DPW Engineer Adrienne St. John, described a “land swap” of sorts that would place a portion of two properties—the former Princeton property at 350 Concord Road and the former Pickman property on Dudley Road—as well as an unused section of Page Field under Conservation Commission control in exchange for a relaxation of wetland restrictions on the former St. Michael’s land
The deal, if accepted by the Conservation Commission, would represent an equal swap of one half acre of St. Michael’s wetland for a one-half acre of expansion to the wetland footprint on Page Field.It would also include 36 acres of the40.6 acre Princeton property and 2.52 acres of Pickman Meadow.
DPW Engineer St. John justified the proposal saying, “It is almost unprecedented for a Conservation Commission to be hearing something of this magnitude without a more than one-to one replication. [The Commission] has long since suggested that we need to make a proposal to them that would have some teeth in it. Something that may not be reproducible by another entity in the future
“They’re concerned about a precedent being set, and rightly so, especially with a locally controlled wetland,” said Warrington. “We feel this proposal will make this happen.”
If the mitigation agreement is acceptable, the three land parcels in question would come under Conservation Commission control and become subject to usage restrictions.“Restrictions can allow for certain kinds of uses,” commented Selectman Mark Siegenthaler. “Are we thinking at all about that?”Warrington and St. John agreed that passive recreation on the newly assigned conservation land would be both desirable and likely.
Where the Princeton property is concerned, 4.6 acres would remain for the future construction of athletic fields.The desire for additional athletic fields was one of the reasons Town Meeting decided to purchase the property.
If the plan goes forward, Warrington says it will result i nhaving two full-sized fields on the St. Michael’s land. “One of them can accommodate soccer, lacrosse and football, and the other can be for soccer and lacrosse….If you can envision the site, they’re on the Liljgren Way side. We also don’t want to take down trees [unnecessarily] on the site and create more wetlands by doing so. We would be damaging one environment to create another.”
The Town has contracted with Oxbow Associates to assess the wetlands and with Simms, Maini, & McKee to do the field layouts
It is anticipated that the proposal will come before the Conservation Commission at their meeting scheduled for Wednesday, August 22.
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