| January | February | March |
| April | May | June |
| July: No Meeting | August: Picnic Meeting | September |
| October | November | December |
This was a Zoom only meeting due to the Omicron Covid
surge. Present: John Mordes, Jay Werb, Ellen Katz, Jennie Moonan, Audrey
Wallace, Robin Dexter, Maureen Riley Meagher, Jean Fisher, Lee Fisher, Bill
Humphrey, Lon Ross, Vaunita Schnell, Loumona Petroff, Rena Getz, Evan
Weststrate, Sheila Purdy
CRWA Presentation: The first meeting for 2022
began with a presentation by 2 guests from the Charles River Watershed
Association: Jennie Moonan and Audrey Wallace. Jennie is the director of the
stormwater program and an environmental engineer. Audrey is the director of
development and membership. CWRA serves 35 communities and was founded in 1965
to restore and enhance the river after decades of being used as a trash dump and
waste disposal site. The organization is extensive and addresses many aspects of
the river’s uses including: water quality, flooding risks, environmental effects
of dumping and runoff, landscaping , recreational use, and educational
opportunity. Mitigation efforts include outreach, hydrology, use of local
volunteers, water quality monitoring, rain gardens, and advocacy.
The
volunteer projects are extensive and involve both technical and hands-on work.
Projects can include pulling invasive plants, cleanup days, water
monitoring, and planning various gatherings and parties. They have a budget of
1.5 million dollars including $850, 000 from donations. They have an online
newsletter, The River Current, which is available through their website.
The Friends followed the excellent and comprehensive presentation with numerous
questions about ARC maps, integrated activities, special projects, recreational
fishing, swimming the Cordingly Dam fish ladder, and hydrology methods of
regulating the height of the river. The guests were invited to return for
follow-up on many of these issues.
Treasurer’s Report: Robin stated that
the balance is now up $1,000 from last year and stands at $7,242. 35. Kudos to
Evan for making the posters available to members and donors. The filings for
state and federal tax exempt status have been filed. The Friends approved
expenditures for improved audio equipment for hybrid meetings and a portable
tent shelter for outdoor visibility events. This purchase will include signage
and pole stabilizers. Robin will provide a check to pay for the Friend’s P.O.
box for next year.
Update From Erica: Erica did not attend the
meeting, but the Friends approved expenditures for metal backrests to be
attached to the rustic benches that will be built and placed in the
December Meeting: the meeting was held at the Osborne house and included the
much anticipated festive year-end party as well as the elections of officers and
board members for 2022. There were a few changes from 2021. The election results
were as follows:
FoHG Officers for 2022:
President: John Mordes;
Vice President: Evan Weststrate; Treasurer: Robin Dexter; Secretary: Sheila
Purdy
FoHG Board Members 2022:
Bill Humphrey, Chris Osborne, Vaunita
Schnell, Rena Getz, John Mordes, Evan Weststrate, and Robin Dexter.
Updates: There are no current updates on the crosswalks, Stone Building
Foundation, or website improvements. If weather permits, an ice skating
event will be planned for the pond during the winter. John is still monitoring
the status of Covid infections to make a decision about where the February
meeting will take place and what precautions should remain.
Goals for
2022: Because of the extensive agenda of this first meeting of the year, the
planning of future goals has been tabled until February.
Respectfully Submitted,
Sheila Purdy, Secretary
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Present: Robin Dexter, Jeff Eisen, John Mordes, Vaunita Schnell, Jean Fisher, James Janosky, Lee Fisher, Chris Osborne, Rena Getz, Paul Roberts, Don Ross, Bob Burke, Bill Humphrey, Evan Weststrate, Betsy Hewitt, Loumona Petroff, Sheila Purdy
Treasurer’s Report: Robin reported an account balance of $7,241 with no new expenses. Evan was reimbursed for his expenses in preparing and mailing the posters. John purchased a microphone for the new hybrid meetings. Costs of renewing the 501(c) 3 status have been paid for the rest of this year. The purchase of a shelter for visibility events is still being explored.
Venue for Upcoming Meetings: A hybrid meeting has been planned for the March meeting at the Waban Library/Community Center. The first Tuesday has been safely reserved but thereis a conflict involved in moving the meeting to the 2nd Tuesday. Rena noted that this date was not always available. The Friends discussed the possibility of moving the date to the third of fourthTuesday. It was decided to keep the March 1st date due to the many assets of the Waban site and its capacity for hybrid meetings. Any subsequent changes could be discussed at future meetings.
Chartering a Boy Scout Troup: Jeff Eisen and Janosky represented BSA Troop 205 and presented the details of a charter agreement for The Friends to officially sponsor the troop for the upcoming year. They summarized the history of the troop and described the current situation requiring a new sponsor and charter agreement. The chartering organization is “usually a non-profit” and they need to get a formal agreement by the end of February. The presenters went over the benefits and responsibilities of the chartering sponsor and answered questions which included liability and benefits to the Friends. A significant number of the Friends had been involved with BSA over many years. Paul Roberts volunteered to be the liaison between the Friends and the BSA. The sponsoring commitment is only for one year and can be renewed or cancelled at the end of this period. The Friends acknowledged the many positive aspects of this arrangements. Don Ross volunteered to be the backup liaison to Paul to insure that the Friends would have an experienced person to fill that role. John noted that there was a quorum of Board members to be able to vote on this proposal. The proposal to charter BSA Troop 205 was approved by vote of the Board members.
Updates from Erica: Erica was not at meeting. Updates will be provided at future meeting. A meeting with Ruth Balser is planned to address the crosswalk issue.
Ice Skating on the Pond: The weather this winter allowed for favorable conditions to permit safe skating on the pond. Evan and Lee quickly planned the event and notified people of the opportunity. Lee noted that most of the attendees were there to watch the event and socialize rather than skate. He noted that Troop 205 could be added to the mailing list for future events.
Future Projects: John noted that the CRWA representatives were available to attend the meeting in March to continue the previous discussion of a number of issues. CRWA has designated April 23rd as its date to schedule the annual Charles River cleanup. The Friends will decide whether to coordinate their spring cleanup for the same date.
The Friends discussed the possibility of formal guided walks through the park to explore the natural history and its role in the evolution of the neighborhood. John suggested that walks could also be made available to children from the city or Metco students from neighboring
Respectfully Submitted,
Sheila Purdy, Secretary
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Present: Robert Kearns, Emily Gelbert, Robin Dexter, Betsy Hewitt, Bill
Humphrey, Bob Burke, John Mordes, Evan Weststrate, Paul Roberts, Vaunita
Schnell, Rena Getz, Loumona Petroff and Sheila Purdy
Announcements: The
Spring Cleanup has been scheduled for April 23rd to coordinate with the
CRWA cleanup and Earth Day. The Friends will continue to publicize the
event in local media. Rena said that the first Monday of each month is available
at the Waban Library Community Center to host ongoing hybrid Friends’ meetings.
The charter with Boy Scout Troop 205 has been signed for the upcoming year.
Treasurer’s Report: Robin announced a new donation following the formalization
of the Friends’ sponsorship of the Scout Troop. It was provided by a parent
involved in the troop.
Guest Speaker: John introduced Robert Kearns,
climate resilience specialist from CRWA. He addressed the recreational issues
brought up at the prior meeting with CWRA. These were Identified as fishing and
swimming. There were also questions about the dams on the river.
The
speaker stated that swimming has been prohibited since the 1950’s and is only
permitted at state sponsored events. This is due to water quality and safety
issues. Water quality has improved since the 1950’s and is constantly monitored
and tested. Quality changes after
storms because of runoff and cyanobacteria
blooms. The yellow foam that occurs on the river is natural and “innocuous”.
Fish that live in the river include: alewife, shad, and blue herring. Fish
travelling upstream cannot navigate the dams. While some dams have fish ladders
to assist them, the circular dam does not. There has been ongoing discussion at
many levels about removing some of the dams
to permit fish to migrate
naturally. Apparently, the American eel can “climb over” dams and can travel as
far as Milford. There is an advisory on the safety of freshwater fish and
contamination with PCB. Currently no signs are in place to warn against
fishing. There is no current action to extend the fish ladder system. Betsy
pointed out that the fish ladder at Lower Falls was in poor condition.
There is currently a low number of river herring. Indigenous people are allowed
to fish the river, but there are also incidents of eel poaching. An effort was
made to reintroduce shad to the system, but the salmon are “all gone”.
Bill asked about efforts to develop green infrastructure to enhance water
quality. The speaker suggested planting more mature trees. Because the Friends
had additional questions and comments, the speaker agreed to return at a future
meeting.
Updates on Ongoing Issues: There are no updates from
Erica. John is communicating with Ruth Balser about the Stone Building
foundation. There is no news at this time.
DCR and DOT are looking into
the connection between the Gorge and Quinobequin. John got a draft of the
plans from DOT. A gap is needed in the guard rail to allow for a safe crossing.
A number of concerns were raised about this crossing. Some suggestions were:
narrowing the ramp, installing a flashing red light, and installing a speed
bump. At a second crossing at Ellis Street, sightlines are also a safety
problem. Improvements could include “Abbey Road” raised crosswalks. John said it
was difficult to get official safety statistics about these 2 crossings.
The Friends discussed a number of projects for future coordination with
the Scout Troop. Emily needs help to maintain the stairway and echo platform.
The rustic benches will need to be varnished once they arrive and the hardware
installed. Vaunita said that the existing trails also need to be restored.
More material could be provided to identify and warn about poison ivy.
John also raised the issue of hosting Metco students at the park.
Respectfully Submitted,
Sheila Purdy, Secretary
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Present: John Mordes, Rena Getz, Loumona Petroff, Paul Roberts, Don Ross,
Bill Humphrey, Robin Dexter, Emily Gelbert, Sheila Purdy
Treasurer’s
Report: Funds were spent on a new speaker system for meetings and for the popup
shelters to be used at visibility events. The tents will be delivered today.
Other Announcements: The previous roof repair at the stone barn resulted in
numerous historical artifacts. John spoke with Rob MacArthur who was the
liaison with DCR at the time. The artifacts included a mortar sample which could
be dated to determine the exact date of the
stone barn. The stone barn could
possibly be the oldest building on DCR land and date back to 1790-1800. John
will speak to the DCR archeologist to follow up on the sample. Rob will be
retiring from his present position and may be able to provide additional
information to us..
Hemlock Gorge Cleanup: The cleanup has been
scheduled on April 23rd rain or shine. Jeff Lin from Tzu Chi has been in touch
to offer volunteers and lunches. Tzu Chi is very careful about not using any
products that are not recyclable. They will bring their own utensils. There will
also be a large contingent from the Scout troop. John reminded everyone that
volunteers needed to fill out a release form for DCR before starting the
cleanup. DCR will provide trash bags and gloves.
State of the Park:
Robin, Evan, and John took a tour of the park and made a list of needed trail
improvements. There was not a lot of trash on the trails, but trash was clearly
evident near the church across from Hamilton Place. There is also trash along
the Quinobequin trail. The echo platform has been maintained and is looking
“pretty good”. The foundation of the stone barn continues to be concerning. It
is bulging out and needs to be carefully examined. There is no longer a forester
at DCR, and the trees are showing a lot of damage from scale. Adelgids are not
as numerous as in the past, but a lot of hemlock trees are bare. Insecticide
sprays cannot be used near water to address the current and future insect
infestations. An arborist would need to make suggestions about how to manage
this ongoing problem. Erica was not present at the meeting for an update on
current projects-the rustic benches and the 2nd floor of the barn.
Earth
Day: Green Newton is sponsoring a festival for Earth Day on April 24th from 1-4
PM. There will be a number of demonstrations including electric cars.
The Friends can sponsor a table to provide information where people can sign up
for the Friends get a poster of the park. There is no fee to sponsor a table.
Volunteers are needed to staff the table and set up the display. John is
available that day. Don could coordinate the event.
Future Projects:
The celebration of the new barn roof was originally delayed due to the pandemic.
It could be scheduled for the summer with a plan to formally thank Ruth Balser
and Amy Mah Sangiolo for all their assistance and advocacy for the stone
barn and other Friends’ projects.
With help from the Scouts, the trails
can be maintained and improved with newly refurbished trail markers. Erica
has already approved this effort. The echo platform could be repainted
In previous years, there were formal tours of the park led by site supervisors
from DCR. Is there any of this material still available to restart the program
with volunteer-led tours? Rob will try to locate any previous tour guides. John
also raised the suggestion that guided tours could also include tours for kids,
including inner city kids.
No guest speakers have been scheduled, but
Jason Lupien could attend to offer suggestions on the health of the trees and
the state of invasive plants in the park.
The Newton Conservation
Commission has refused to grant a Certificate of Compliance following the
repair of Cook’s Bridge because the small part of the Park next to the Mills
Falls shopping center has not been finished to specifications. A representative
would like the Friends to get involved in this issue. Rena will look into this
further to see if there is a need to coordinate efforts.
Respectfully Submitted,
Sheila Purdy, Secretary
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To be continued
Respectfully Submitted,
Sheila Purdy, Secretary
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To be continued
Respectfully Submitted,
Sheila Purdy, Secretary
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To be continued.
Respectfully Submitted,
Sheila Purdy, Secretary
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To be continued.
Respectfully Submitted,
Sheila Purdy, Secretary
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To be continued.
Respectfully Submitted,
Sheila Purdy, Secretary
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To be continued.
Respectfully Submitted,
Sheila Purdy, Secretary
Back to the Index of 2022 Meetings