Lakeville open space committee finalizes pamphlet, plans mailer and webinars for landowners

The Town of Lakeville Open Space Committee approved a finished open-space informational pamphlet and agreed on an outreach plan that combines a mailed cover letter, downloadable pamphlets and webinars from partner organizations.

Committee Chairman David Zolonis said the committee will add a dedicated email contact on the town website for open-space inquiries and use that address on the pamphlet. Lynn, who led the pamphlet project, told the committee the materials are complete and ready for distribution.

The nut graf: Committee members discussed multiple distribution channels and agreed to a hybrid approach. Printed pamphlets will be made available at the town hall, senior center and library; a limited number will be handed out at a town meeting intended for public outreach. For broader outreach, the committee will mail a cover letter to a targeted set of property owners and point recipients to PDF resources and partner webinars online.

Most of the meeting’s outreach discussion covered logistics and costs. The committee said MassWoods (referred to in discussion as “Mass Woods”) agreed to supply two pamphlets — the Chapter 61 overview and a “protecting your legacy” brochure — free of charge when the committee needs printed copies. The committee decided not to mail full pamphlet packets because postage and shipping costs for heavier packages would be “cost-prohibitive.” Instead, the mailed package will be a cover letter explaining how to obtain the full materials online or pick up a hard copy at town locations.

Wildlands Trust agreed to run a half-hour webinar for landowners and the committee plans to reference that webinar in the mailed letter. The committee is still pursuing participation from a Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) forest ranger; if the DCR participates, committee members said the DCR sessions and the Wildlands Trust webinar would likely be scheduled separately.

Timing: Committee members discussed a late-fall schedule. They said the cover letter should go out about two to three weeks before any webinar dates; the committee’s working timeline calls for a mailed letter in early October and webinars in late October/November, pending partner availability. Tracy, town staff, offered to print mail pieces on official town letterhead and to run color copies at the town hall to help make the mailing look “official” and more likely to be opened.

Distribution inventory and volunteers: The committee reported it has 1,000 printed pamphlets in stock. The plan is to stage modest initial quantities (about 25) at each public pickup location and to hold the remaining inventory at a member’s home for on-demand replenishment. The committee also plans to staff a table at an upcoming town meeting; volunteers will hand out pamphlets and answer basic questions.

Next steps: The committee asked for a volunteer to draft the cover letter using sample outreach letters from other municipalities; a sample letter from another town was expected by email. Committee members agreed to finalize partner webinar dates and the mailing list in time to meet the fall outreach schedule.

Ending: Committee members said they will refine the mailing list and circulate a draft letter for review at the next meeting before authorizing the direct mailing.