MIDDLESEX CONSERVATION COMMISSION
Thursday November 2, 2006
7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Middlesex Town Offices
Middlesex, VT

Commissioners Present
Judy Keyes
Rick Paradis
Dave Shepard

 
Administrative Operations
Call to Order 7:05
Guests: Jane Dudley, Scott Gurley

Minutes
As a quorum of the Commission was not present, the meeting minutes for October 5, 2006, were not reviewed and approved.

Treasurer’s Report
 • Operating Budget: $742.59
 • Conservation Fund: $10,609.46
Awaiting $5000.00 of voted for funds from town meeting
 • Special Projects fund: $1233.03
Rick pointed out that the Conservation Fund balance reflects the addition of some funds from the Special Projects fund to replace funds that were originally mistakenly withdrawn from the Conservation Fund.

Dave announced that Scott Gurley has sent a letter of interest in joining the Commission and Dave will forward his letter to the Select Board with a request that they appoint Scott to one of the two current openings.

At approximately 7:30, the meeting moved to a discussion of trail resources in the recreation section of the draft town plan. An invitation had been posted on the Middlesex website and a notice had also been placed in the Middlesex Monthly.

The following individuals joined the Commission for this discussion: Bill May, Tom Frostic (both representing Montpelier Trackmakers snowmobile club), Libby Towne, Todd Comen, Eric Seidel and Kimberly Hagen. Also present was Michael Crane of Crane Associates, the consulting firm contracted by the town for assistance with the town plan update.

After a brief overview of the trails related survey results and the recommendations for further actions in the recreation section of the draft town plan, the meeting was opened up to discussion and comments. There was a significant discussion of the pros and cons of including the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers (VAST) trail on the trail map to be included in the town plan. The main disadvantage was the difficulty in denoting the unusual status of the VAST trail, which is mainly on private land, compared to the other trails, Class 4 roads and Legal Trails also depicted on the map that are public rights of way. In consideration of the potential that viewers of the map might not differentiate the VAST trail from the others and assume it was open for similar uses, it was decided it would be best to reference in the text that there is a VAST trail in town but not show it on the map.

As a result of the discussion at this meeting the following potential future actions were recommended to be added to the list already included in the draft town plan:

 • Assess the existing trails and rights of way and consider the appropriate types of use for each.
 • Educate trail users on proper trail etiquette and respect for the property a trail passes over.
 • Initiate a dialog with the Selectboard on types of use for different trails and rights of way.
 • Explore the potential for additional trails with willing landowners.
 • Explore possible connections to trails in adjoining towns.

The meeting was adjourned at the conclusion of the trails discussion at approximately 8:50 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted


Middlesex Conservation Commission Co-Chair