GILL — Apart from a new emphasis on re-establishing the Recreation Committee, the town’s goals on recreation, land preservation and economic development are largely the same in the 10-year update to the Open Space and Recreation Plan, which the Selectboard endorsed this week and will likely be finalized by the summer.
The plan outlines Gill’s positions on maintaining its natural resources and providing outdoor recreation, and on balancing those needs with economic development goals.
The document does not formally establish town policies, but is useful in qualifying for grants, explained Town Administrator Ray Purington. It can also give guidance to committees whose work may intersect with issues of the town’s natural resources.
The plan was most recently set in 2011, and has focused on Gill’s investment in the Connecticut River, and with providing guidance on recreation facilities and on preserving natural land. Purington said some of the goals were achieved and some were not, but could still be acted upon.
“A lot has changed, but not much has changed,” he said. “We intentionally kept quite a few of those great ideas that hadn’t started, because they are still great ideas.”
One notable goal that has not been achieved is the creation of a committee on open space and recreation, whose task would be to keep tabs on the town’s progress toward the plan’s goals. This would be separate from the town’s Recreation Committee, which currently has no members.
However, Purington added, such a committee would depend on residents’ interest and willingness to commit to such a project. The town would also be open to residents who may be willing to work toward specific goals, but who may not be willing to commit to being on a Town Hall committee, he said.
Similarly, re-establishment of the Recreation Committee is specifically noted as a goal in the new Open Space and Recreation Plan.
“That really strikes me as a gap or a need within the fabric of the town,” Purington said. “We ought to have some type of recreation committee.”
Typically, a recreation committee organizes activities for children, but its role could change to include recreation for adults as well, he said.
Development of the new Open Space and Recreation Plan started in 2017, with a public forum and meetings of the Open Space and Recreation Plan Committee. In 2011, the committee conducted a survey that also influenced the new plan.
This week, the Selectboard approved the final draft of the plan, which will now be sent to the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation for approval Purington said the plan will probably be totally finalized within five or six months.
Reach Max Marcus at mmarcus@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.