Douglas Open Space Committee designates bill-payment member, advances donation account setup

DOUGLAS -- May 13, 2026, Douglas Open Space Committee names a bill-payment designee and eyes June 30 grant deadline. The three-member panel, Chair Sue Perkins, Kathy Chabot-Richards, and Becky Callagher, voted at its May 13 meeting to designate Chabot-Richards to approve payments on the committee's behalf under the state's Modernization Act, clearing the way for smoother handling of incoming donations and grant funds. The committee also approved a $205.75 reimbursement for postcards and stamps used in outreach for a May 14 public information event mailed to 196 households. A public donation account through Unibank is in the works but will not accept funds until after the June 30 fiscal year close, per guidance from town finance staff. Separately, Perkins reported that a $100,000 CMRPC-administered grant for the Knapp Pond project on Gilboa Street has seen roughly $50,000 spent on research alone, with the remainder needing to be obligated before end of June, complicated by deed-based parking rights that prevent depaving the lot and suspected subsurface contamination at the site.