Uxbridge Open Space Committee reviews 2021 plan priorities, forms 'green list' and elects officers

The Town of Uxbridge Open Space Committee convened for its first meeting in some time and agreed to begin implementation work on the town's 2021 open space and recreation plan, focusing initially on town-owned parcels tied to water resources and habitat protection.

Russ Holden, serving as facilitator and a member of the Conservation Commission, told the group the 2021 plan remains valid for seven years and recommended the committee start by reviewing items already listed as high priorities rather than rewriting the plan. "I think our intention is to have a relatively short meeting but interesting good conversation," Holden said.

The committee identified several town-owned parcels as early priorities tied to groundwater and recharge protection, including 20 Elizabeth Street (the town well site), 57 Power Street, a potential well site adjacent to Elizabeth Street, 300 Croaker Highway, the Rosenfield Wellfield (described in the discussion as a roughly 100-acre site) and the Burnett Wellfield on South Main Street (described as about 40 acres). Steve Crodo, a new committee member, read the parcel list and aligned those properties with plan goals to "protect servicing groundwater resources from adverse impacts."

Members discussed data quality and inventories: Holden said he circulated a current Board of Assessors listing of town-owned properties and asked the group to cross-reference that list against the 2020/2021 171-page inventory to correct discrepancies and confirm ownership before finalizing priorities. The committee agreed to split the inventory pages among members for on-the-ground checks using a checklist Holden emailed to the group.

The group agreed to create a "green list" of town-owned parcels to monitor and advocated for in-town site visits. Examples raised for early inspection included a Glendale/Clark Road parcel (11 Clark Road was given as the official address), a parcel on Old Millville Road near the Blackstone River for potential canoe access, and other riverfront or habitat sites. "The more boxes [on the checklist] it checks off, the more it deserves to be on our green priority list," Holden said.

Committee members discussed outreach and stakeholders: formal stewards such as the Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Army Corps of Engineers were noted for parcels already under outside stewardship, while neighbors and recreational users (hunters, mountain bikers) were identified as "hidden stakeholders" who could support stewardship and monitoring. Members also proposed wearing identifying vests and name tags with the Town of Uxbridge designation for site visits and recommended orange safety gear during hunting season.

On scheduling, the committee settled on meeting roughly every other week on Thursdays in the early evening (6:30 p.m. start), with hour-and-a-half sessions planned to build momentum and keep the inventory work moving. Members discussed quorum rules (three members) and agreed to use a group/team space for documents and calendars.

The committee held a formal vote on officers. Russ Holden proposed a slate naming Holden as chair and Steve Crodo as secretary/clerk. The motion passed unanimously. Holden announced the vote outcome and confirmed the committee's next steps: members will divide pages of the inventory, conduct site visits using the checklist, compile observations for the next meeting, and finalize the green list.

The meeting closed after confirming the next meeting date and making arrangements to consolidate documents in the committee's group space.