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Home My Public Portal AboutBikeways Committee -- 2020-12-18 Minutes Brewster Bikeways Committee Meeting Minutes December 18, 2020 Date : December 18, 2020 Time : 12 :00 PM Location : Remote meeting Members Present : Joe Sullivan, Susan Riseman, George Bausch, Eric Levy, Rick Scannevin Members Absent : Greg Wright Guest Speakers : Patrick Ellis, Superintendent Brewster DPW; Ryan Burch, Senior Shellfish and Natural Resources Officer 1 . Call to Order: meeting called to order at 12 : 00 PM . 2 . Declaration of Quorum : Quorum present five of seven members — one vacancy included . 3 . Meeting Participation Statement : read by Chairman Joe Sullivan . 4 . Questions received from public prior to meeting : none 5 . Review and approval of March and November minutes : Minutes were reviewed . George Bausch made motion to approve, seconded by Susan Riseman, approved unanimously . 6 . Election of Vice Chair: The departure of Hal Minis left a vacancy at the Vice Chairman position . Eric Levy made a motion to keep the present officers, Joe Sullivan as Chairman, Rick Scannevin as Clerk and nominated Susan Riseman for Vice Chairwoman . Motion seconded and approved unanimously . 7 . Bike Rack Grant : Ryan Burch, representing the Natural Resources Department, led a discussion on the current situation regarding the bike racks in Brewster . Although we have quite a few, many are made of wood and are in need of replacement . He said there is money available through the Cape Cod Commission to purchase new equipment . This not only applies to bike racks but bicycle repair/pump stations also . He had previously provided the Committee with a list of 9 spots in Brewster that could use new racks, list was part of the meeting packet . We discussed some additional locations and Ryan was going to look into it . Rick Scannevin asked if we could also add to the request at least one bike repair station, ideally two . There is currently one on the Old Colony Rail Trail in Chatham and has been well used . The Committee felt this would be a great addition to the Rt . 137 location as it is a major junction on the Rail Trail that already has toilet facilities and a proposed hydration station . Eric Levy thought that Nickerson State Park would also be an ideal location for a repair/pump station . Rick made a motion to support the Natural Resources Department' s efforts to secure funding for the projects . George Bausch seconded , the motion was unanimously approved . 8 . MassBike Annual Meeting : Joe Sullivan participated in the meeting. He discovered there is money available through the Mass Trails Grant Program until February 2021 . Pat Ellis said the Town used money from this grant in 2020 to construct sidewalks at the Drummer Boy Park . We had a brief discussion on the somewhat dangerous road pedestrian road crossings at Linnell Landing Rd . and Crosby Lane where they cross Rt . 6A . The question came up if it was possible to use grant money to try and make some kind of improvements at these locations . Joe was going to look into it further. 9 . Complete Streets Funding Program Update : Pat Ellis, Superintendent of the DPW, gave a detailed explanation of how the program works and where Brewster stands in the process . There are 3 Tiers in the program . Joe Sullivan attended a workshop on Complete Streets . Brewster has fulfilled the Tier 1 requirements and is now working to complete Tier 2 . This I i makes the Town eligible for a grant of up to $ 50, 000.00 to prepare a Prioritization Plan . Pat is overseeing this and the Town will be having the Cape Cod Commission (CCC) prepare the plan instead of hiring an independent contractor. The CCC is currently doing the same for Orleans and Eastham . If approved the Town could be eligible for up to $ 400,000 . 00 to work on complete streets improvements for all users and abilities . Pat talked about the fact that many roads in Brewster will not be candidates for Complete Streets as they are old and narrow to begin with and the vehicles are getting wider all the time . He said it would take about 6 months before the Prioritization Plan would be completed (June 30 , 2021 ) . The Chair reviewed the Town of Brewster' s Complete Streets Policy Memo (Select Board Policy 61 ) dated January 2020 and included in the meeting packet . In the memo the select board directed that a complete streets report with metrics found in the memo will be completed as needed but at least annually and presented to the Bikeways Committee . Pat Ellis was unsure when the report would be available but possibly once the Prioritization Plan was completed as well as work finished on Millstone, which will incorporate many tents of the complete streets funding program , such as sidewalks and linking existing streets to the trails in Nickerson State Park . There was some discussion about the coordination with other town departments and committees regarding complete streets . DPW has worked with the Housing Office over the past several years to ensure complete streets tenets are included in town projects . Pat was unsure of the outcomes of that coordination . Joe Sullivan volunteered to coordinate with the Housing Office to find out how complete streets is being incorporated into affordable housing projects as people who need affordable housing are often are greater users of alternate means of transportation such as buses, bikes, and sidewalks. Lastly, Pat Ellis mentioned the path between the Brewster elementary schools as a possible complete streets project, which would also link the Eddy school to the CCRT. The chair agreed that this would be a great project and would help Brewster provide safe routes to schools, which is a part of the Complete Streets initiative . 10. CCRT counts : passed over- meeting was running long . 11 . Repaving of Satucket and Slough Roads : There has been some concern as to the new paving of Satucket and Slough Roads . Pat Ellis said the company hired by National Grid to do the road repaving, striping and loaming the sides did not completely finish the job . The paving surface is fine, although some residents feel the berms are higher than before . Pat said they are the same height and the issue is the lack of fill behind the berm . The striping was delayed a month and they have yet to fill in the area behind the berms and seed . He thinks they will complete it in the Spring . Pat Ellis mentioned that he used bicycle friendly striping material that could be included in the progress the Town is making on meeting the tenets of complete streets . 12 . Bike Repair Station : covered in #7 13 . Update on Linnel ) Landing trail extension : Eric Levy, reports nothing has been moving on this lately . Joe Sullivan is following up with the Town Administrator to see how the Bikeways can support the DRC trail extension project . Eric thanked the committee for keeping the trail extension project on the radar. 14 . FYI : Brewster Bikeways Committee new email address : bikeways@brewster- ma .gov 15 . Matters not Anticipated : The Committee thanked Eric Levy his outstanding work on keeping the Cape Cod Rail Trail clear of debris and leaves this Fall . Eric has noticed a big increase of trail i usage in 2021 that has continued into the Fall . 16 . Next Meeting : January 15, 2021 12 : 00 PM (virtual meeting) 17 . Ad 'tournment : meeting adjourned at 1 : 45 PM Respectfully submitted, i Rick Scannevin i Clerk, Brewster Bikeways Committee f i I l i i i