Decision on Hunting Committee Will Require More Research

For part two, click here.

9:00 p.m. – The board began discussion on potential membership of a hunting committee relating to creating a coordinated policy for hunting in town following the recent debate over hunting in the Tadmuck area of town.

Selectman Scott Hazelton asked a question on how many people would be on the committee, with additional discussion on whether half of the committee would be hunters.

Wormell said what the Selectmen should aim for as a board is to be as fair as they can and trust people when they apply regarding their views.

Kelly Ross said that the board might have a hunting bias if there is someone on the board who is not a hunter, but supports hunting.

He preferred that the committee be populated with people who are knowledgeable about hunting whether they hunt or not.

Ross continued asking whether the Conservation Commission might want to get involved in this discussion as well.

Wormell indicated that any land purchased by federal funds must allow hunting, such as the Jack Walsh Fields property.

She indicated that the town should be careful who is on the committee due to all of the land holding boards in town.

Sulivan asked if GIS could be used to find which town parcels already allow hunting.

Wormell said that technically, all parcels in town allow hunting with permission of the land owner, although some land holding committees like the Housing Authority would never allow permission.

The board decided it was at an impasse what may or may not be regulated.

Wormell then asked if town-owned parcels should be taken off the table or if bow hunting should be the only thing looked at.

Jodi Ross said she was not comfortable with any amendment since it went beyond the agenda listing, which did not mention policy.

9:14 p.m. - The board agreed that it needed more time, as this is a much more complicated issue than they thought.

Kelly Ross volunteered to meet with Wormell as a subcommittee to work something out to break the impasse. Wormell doesn’t want this to be kicked down the road, saying this was her third time addressing this issue.

Peraner-Sweet asked Kelly Ross and Wormell to come back with a time frame.

Kelly Ross made a motion to present an update by Dec. 17.

9:18 p.m. – Peraner-Sweet said there would be a forum on Dec. 4 on the NMCOG Town Common report and wanted to make it clear to residents that no changes were coming in the near future

The material is available at westfordma/towncenter.

9:19 p.m. – The board approved a consent agenda relating to a nativity scene and then Dennis Galvin and Matt Lewin presented an update on road acceptance.

Galvin said that Sawmill Estates is a special case compared to other streets.

Lewin, as chairman of the Unaccepted Roads Committee, asked that the Committee be dissolved and then discussed the topic of unaccepted roads, leading to the topic of abandoned roads, or roads where developers had not completed development that said they would pursue.

Lewin indicated that an abandoned roads provision would address this issue, and that it would modify the Planning Board rules and regulations, also discussing its impact on bonds taken out by developers, which are generally returned once developments are completed.

Galvin said that the Planning Board’s role is as an overseer for subdivisions and that the construction of subdivisions happen as approved, part of why bonds are held against construction and said that whenever these roads come before the Selectmen that there is a history behind those roads.

Lewin said that one of the goals of the unaccepted roads committee was trying to figure out how to prevent situations where developments were not completed from happening again, and more rules are now in place to prevent that.

Kelly Ross asked how many roads remain unaccepted. Town Engineer Paul Starratt said that Sawmill, Musket and Hidden Valley Roads were it, with three more potentially.

In total, it would include 3,300 feet of new roads.

Galvin thanked Starratt for his work, saying that recently the number of unaccepted roads was at 22.

Westford Highway Department superintendent Chip Barrett thanked the Unaccepted Roads Committee and urged the Selectmen to remember that there is a cost to accepting roads, as all roads are different, and asked for help if these roads are accepted.

No action was taken, with additional action to be taken on Dec. 17

9:39 p.m. – Discussion began on the new assistant planner position, which has not been filled yet, although a person has been found.

The position would not be full time, several boards support it, and Jodi Ross said that would be a savings as the applicant does not want health insurance, asking to increase the amount of hours to 18 hours per week to 24.

9:41 p.m. – Several items were then approved and Assistant Town Manager John Mangiaratti talked about a project town Conservation Agent Bill Turner had worked on regarding deeds and conservation restrictions.

Turner had been working on the project for over 10 years.

Jodi Ross then asked the Selectmen to approve several contracts and an agreement with Arlington on two GIS projects, which was explained further by Mangiaratti. 

The meeting adjourned at 9:47 p.m.