Douglas Open Space Committee Votes to Authorize Chair and Vice Chair to Sign Documents

DOUGLAS — January 14, 2025 — Douglas Open Space Committee sets trails grant push and signing authority at January meeting. The committee voted unanimously on January 14 to authorize Chair Sue Perkins and Vice Chair Lisa Mosinski to sign documents on its behalf, and debated strategy for a state trails grant application due February 1 that would cover 80 percent of costs to open the Keevan property's 451-foot easement and establish a roughly 25-by-25-foot gravel parking area between 221 and 229 Southeast Main Street. Secretary Becky Gallagher outlined a draft request-for-quotes scope calling for tree removal, boulder splitting, and two stone wall alterations along the easement, and named Billy Porter among local contractors to contact. The committee settled on asking the May 5 annual town meeting for the full project amount — with a contingency clause referencing the pending grant — because state award decisions are unlikely before town meeting. The committee's operating budget stands at $300; volunteer labor is valued at $39.19 per hour under the state's in-kind match formula. The committee confirmed three active priority parcels: Keevan property, the Leon Muszynski property, and the newly town-owned Gilboa Street Pond Lot.