7/14/2011 ENVIRONMENTAL OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE Minutes

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Community Need The project will fulfill two recreational needs of the Town. The proposed recreational field will support a summer day camp program hosted by the Mashpee Recreation Department. While the Town owns other recreational areas, including Heritage Park, these areas are heavily used by organized sports leagues within the Town (Mashpee Youth Soccer, Mashpee Youth Baseball/Softball, Mashpee Youth Lacrosse, etc.). This field, along with access to the waters of Pickerel Cove will serve as a focal point for the day camp. The field will additionally be available to residents and visitors for open recreation when not being used for the camp. The construction of a car-top boat access will provide residents and visitors with an opportunity to safely launch their canoes and kayaks into Pickerel Cove, accessing Mashpee/Wakeby Pond. Within Mashpee are four Town-owned-public boat ramps as well as two State-owned public boat ramps. These ramps are typically used for motorized boat launching. Also, launching of boats from Town beaches is not permitted. Community Support Purchase of the 78.67 acre property was overwhelming approved by Town Meeting. The project has been endorsed by the Board of Selectmen, Conservation Commission, and Recreation Department. The Town will be conducting outreach to the adjacent neighborhood over the next several months to gain their support. As mentioned above, the property still contains trails, including an access off Pickerel Cove Road. Although this access is currently blocked from vehicular traffic, there has been vandalism and other illicit activity occurring that has required response by the Mashpee Police Department. A benefit of the proposed project will be the improvement of this access for monitoring of the property by the Police Department. Timeline Construction is proposed for Spring of 2012. Any required permitting and review will be completed over winter prior to construction. Success Factors Success will be measured by public feedback and public usage of the property as well as enrollment in the Recreation Department's summer day camp. Experience/Credentials The Town has constructed and now maintains over 10 properties used for open space and/or recreation. Amenities on these properties include recreation fields, parking lots, walking trails, and boat ramps.