Lenox Selectmen Appoint Land Management Committee
 Board of Selectmen Chairman Ed Lane discusses the newly approved Open Space and Recreation Plan. |
LENOX, Mass. — The Selectmen on Wednesday approved the Land Management Committee members who will put into action the newly-drafted Open Space and Recreation Plan that contains important goals for the conservation and preservation of Lenox's recreational common areas.
"This is going to be a committee that is going to not sit by idly – it's going to have a lot of work to do," said board Chairman Edward Lane. "They can really shape things in the way our Open Space and Recreation Plan [works] and all of our land management. This is a committee that's going to be a real working committee."
Land Use Director Gwen Miller has seen this plan come a long way and has worked steadily with various conservation and recreation committees and organizations on the local and regional level to provide protection for wildlife, improved water quality, forestry management, outdoor education, and recreation spaces available to everyone regardless of ability.
Publishing the Open Space and Recreation Plan and having it approved by the state opens the necessary doors to meet such goals.
Selectman Warren Archey said the plan was "extremely well done. It allows us to apply for state and federal grants, which before this document, we couldn't have done."
"The [plan] is a document that guides the town," explained Miller to the Selectmen. "It provides a five-year action plan; it serves to prioritize actions and policies that help enhance our existing recreation resources, and identify new open spaces that we may want to further conserve or protect going forward. These include iconic landscapes in town [and] unique habitat for special concern at the state level."
The Land Management Committee was unanimously approved by the board, and is comprised of Archey, Ruth Wheeler of the Kennedy Park Committee, Planning Board Chairman Kameron Spaulding, Patty Spector of the Lenox Land Trust, Conservation Commission member Tim Flanagan, Community Center Director Kim Graham, and Andrew Lane (a volunteer firefighter) who serves as the at-large member.
The Selectmen also recommended that Gene Chague, the current at-large member of the Community Preservation Committee, be on the Land Management Committee as well – to serve both interests and improve communication between these two groups of similar interests and goals. They will be consulting him and revising the committee at a later date.
"It certainly makes perfect sense to see how we can strengthen the ties that bind those two committees," agreed Town Manager Christopher Ketchen. "I'm imagining a very robust .... approach from the Land Management [Commission] on the Open Space Plan."
"The task of the Land Management Committee going forward (as well as part of my work)," said Miller, "is to see to it that we stick with the action plan, that we implement it, and then annually revisit our progress."
"It's important to realize that as great as this plan is – it's not everything," Chairman Lane reminded the board. The new committee can focus on things outside the scope of the plan as well.
"We were able to host a workshop for landowners interested in donating their land or preserving it into the future after they have passed on – we [had] panelists from around the county come and provide their expertise to landowners," Miller told the board.
"I think that's just one example of the work we can do."
The plan is available in full on the town website, under the Land Management Committee tab.
The Selectmen also discussed an issue that has been a quiet undercurrent in the town for a while – Dave Roche said that many residents question why some cultural non-profits do not contribute money to the town in lieu of paying taxes.
Roche identified the "business of Lenox" as being primarily tourism, and acknowledge that much of the town's resources come from the rooms and meals tax.
"Most of the cultural activities we have in Lenox are pretty well strapped. But they do provide venues for tourists, who eat at our restaurants and stay in our hotels," Roche said.
"I don't think I could possibly recommend [adding surcharges to ticket sales] because I don't want to jeopardize any cultural activity that provides [resources for tourists] who contribute in that way to the town coffers."
The Selectmen agreed, citing other ways that nonprofit cultural venues benefit the town: providing jobs to local residents who then spend money locally, providing advertising for the town and surrounding area, and working together to make Lenox a desirable attraction within Berkshire County.
"They've been good neighbors," said Roche.
Tags: conservation & recreation, conserved land, open space,
