Rail Trail Committee asks Select Board for six-month extension

WESTON — June 8, 2020 — Weston's Rail Trail Advisory Committee votes to seek a six-month extension through January 2021. Chair Gail Coyne and member Paul Penfield said unfinished Phase 2 plantings — which drew no bids this spring and may be rebid for spring 2021 — argue against the panel's scheduled June 30 sunset; the motion to ask the Select Board for the extension passed unanimously by roll call. Member Chris Fitzgerald reported Town Manager Tom Cullen has released the construction bond, leaving $43,034 in construction and $23,995 in design funds — about $67,000, potentially $79,715 with grant transfers — for additional benches. Coyne is targeting October sign installation to mark the trail's first anniversary, coordinated with Concom's Emily Shadler. Member Eli flagged a safety hazard at the railroad trestle west of the trail, where a cut fence and overgrowth funnel pedestrians and cyclists across exposed ties; he and Penfield will write DCR's Paul Jahnke.