For the first time since 1999, the town is updating its Open Space and Recreation Plan (OSRP) — and it’s looking for the community’s help in doing so.
“It’s really interesting to go back and read [the old] plan because we’ve undertaken so many of the things recommended in that plan over time,” said Erin Rowland, vice chair of the Open Space and Recreation Plan Advisory Committee. “Things like our new hockey rink, rebuilding the pool, and all of the different park and playground and field restoration projects that have been undertaken.”
From now through Jan. 31, the town, in partnership with its consultant VHB, is inviting residents to take an online survey better to understand the community’s priorities and areas for improvement when it considers how to update the plan.
“The purpose of this [process] is to create a guiding document that the Recreation Commission, the Select Board … can look at and say where can we put our [Community Preservation Act funds],” said Recreation Commission Chair Paul Cowing.
A new plan will allow the town to access grants from the state Division of Conservation Services for the next decade that it currently isn’t eligible for, added Rowland.
“I think it’s also a beneficial process to hear from the community and try to take stock of what we’ve accomplished and what we have not and what people would like,” she said.
Members of the Open Space and Recreation Plan Advisory Committee are drawn from relevant town entities. One voting member is sent by each of the following committees or groups of committees: the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee; the Conservation Commission; the Recreation Commission; the Community Preservation Committee or Comprehensive Capital Budget Committee; and the Council on Aging, the Disability Access Commission, or the Age Friendly Action Committee. In addition, representatives from four town departments serve as non-voting members of the committee.
The decision to update the plan stemmed from the fact that the town also had to update its Comprehensive Plan, for which there is also an advisory committee, according to Cowing.
“We come from the commissions and committees that deal with this on the routine, so we have a fair amount of expertise ourselves, but we’re … going to take the information from the public to turn it into what it needs to be,” said Cowing. “The raw material has to come from the community first.”
In addition to the survey and the committee’s monthly public meetings, there were three consultant-facilitated focus group discussions, Rowland said.
“The survey helps us get the broadest amount of information,” Cowing said. “Some of the questions on the survey are actually what we did for the facilitated conversations.”
Belmont doesn’t have much open space to work with, Cowing noted, which is what makes an updated plan so important.
“I cannot emphasize how important the survey is,” he said. “It is probably one of the best modes of communication that people have to get to us. Even if something is missing from the survey or they want something, send us an email … We need feedback from the community. We need to hear what the community wants going forward.”
According to Cowing, the committee, which had its first monthly meeting in October, expects to be through the process by April. The Select Board, Recreation Commission and Conservation Commission will be asked to review the final plan, but overall approval is in the hands of the state Department of Conservation and Recreation.
The survey can be found online at tinyurl.com/BelmontOSRPSurvey.
