The committee approved a memorandum of agreement to allow Saratoga PLAN to purchase three outparcels and construct a trailhead and small parking lot that would provide a northern entrance to the Graphite Range Community Forest, committee members said.

The presenting staff member described the proposal: a donor will pay Saratoga PLAN to acquire the parcels, PLAN will develop a trailhead parking lot and a trail connection, and the county would take ownership of the parcel after the parking lot and connecting trail are constructed. The presenting staff member said the process requires Town of Greenfield planning-board approval and that PLAN has issued an RFP and selected a consultant to prepare plans. “So the way the process will work, a donor has stepped forward, will pay Saratoga plan for the purchase of the property. Saratoga plan will take ownership of it. And once the parking lot, trailhead parking lot is constructed as well as a trail connecting into Graphite Range Community Forest, that we would take over ownership of that parcel similar to what we did with the Graphite Range Community Forest,” the presenting staff member said.

Committee members discussed timing, survey work included in PLAN’s RFP, and the size and location of the proposed parking lot — the presenting staff member said the lot would be small, for about 10 cars, near Walton Greenville Road, with a boardwalk and trailhead roughly 300 yards from the existing boardwalk. The committee approved the memorandum by voice vote and emphasized that PLAN must obtain Greenfield planning approval; the county will not accept ownership until improvements are finished. The presenting staff member said there was a trails grant application tied to the town for the parking-lot construction and that the county lacks the internal resources to build the improvements itself.

The committee’s approval functions as an assurance to PLAN and prospective donors that the county will accept the parcel after required improvements and approvals are complete; it does not allocate county funds for construction. The committee also noted discussion about possible future ADA-accessible trails at the northern entrance, but no funding or implementation timeline for accessibility improvements was set during the meeting.