Weston Rail Trail Committee Votes to Add Recreation Seat, Eyes $73,000 Consultant Request

WESTON — November 1, 2017 — Weston's Rail Trail Advisory Committee voted unanimously to seek a Recreation Commission seat on its board and previewed a $73,000 Town Meeting warrant article for continued trail design consulting. The committee's chair devoted much of the November 1 meeting to addressing letters from abutters — including one from Pigeon Hill Road resident Heidi Weil — clarifying that Eversource Energy is laying gravel under an existing easement while the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, not Eversource, will pave the three-mile trail under a 90-year MBTA lease. Of the $73,000 requested, only $20,000 would go to design firm Utile; the remainder would fund a landscape architect for plantings. Eric Rosenthal, attending on behalf of the Recreation Commission, said his board endorsed the CPC funding proposal but sought assurances that recreational uses would be balanced. Committee member Paul raised a construction oversight concern after observing three erosion-control installations he said were placed incorrectly, and town staff acknowledged the town lacks resources for a proactive owner's representative on the project.