The Five-Year Action Plan is intended to provide concrete steps towards implementing the objectives of the Open Space and Recreation Plan. The Open Space and Recreation Planning Committee developed the draft action steps outlined below..
The objectives are listed in the far left column of the foldout Table 9-1 in the same order as they appear in Section 8. They are followed in the same row by recommended actions, the board or group responsible for implementation, and start dates. By implementing the recommended actions, each of the objectives will begin to be realized.
Accomplishing the actions identified in this section will require time and commitment from dedicated volunteers. Where money is required, it may be sought from state and federal governmental agencies, private non-profit conservation agencies, foundations, and individual donations in addition to municipal funds. A broad base of community support for the Open Space and Recreation Plan should facilitate fundraising to achieve its goals and objectives.
| OBJECTIVE | ACTION | RESPONSIBLE BOARD/ GROUP | START DATE |
| Work with the existing Friends of the Charlemont Fairgrounds Committee to restore the grand stand and to develop the fairgrounds as a public space. Promote their use for public events like farmers' market,
concerts, and communal festivities. | Encourage the Parks Commission to work with the Friends of the Fairgrounds on an Urban Self-Help Application and other grant opportunities to renovate the grandstand. | Select Board and Friends of the Fairground (Friends) | 2004 |
| | Request the Park Commissioners to have regular, posted, and scheduled, public meetings. | Select Board and Planning Board | 2004 |
| Identify existing trails, which could be promoted in the future. | Explore the development of a trail from Charlemont Village to the Fairgrounds. | Friends and Community
Development Committee | 2004 |
| | Research, categorize, and plot existing trails. | Deerfield River Watershed Association and Recreation Committee | 2005 |
| Increase year round recreational opportunities for residents of all ages, especially after school programming for teens. | Appoint
a Recreation Committee or add a Recreation component to the Parks Commission. | Select Board | 2004 |
| | Identify locations to acquire for a Town Beach on the Deerfield River. | Planning Board and Community Development
Committee | 2005 |
| Provide safe and adequate bike and pedestrian path connections in Town (e.g. between Charlemont Center and the Fairgrounds and along Zoar Road). | Encourage the Select Board to continue to work with MassHighway on Rte. 2 improvements including pedestrian access and traffic calming. | Select Board | 2004 |
| Assess
the status of buildings and structures located within the Charlemont National Historic District (NHD) and in other areas in Town. | Create a comprehensive inventory of all of the structures within and near to, the Charlemont NHD. | Historical Commission | 2005 |
| Improve and protect scenic viewsheds, scenic views of the river, especially along Rte.2 and along the Deerfield River in collaboration with the Scenic Byway Corridor
Management Plan. | Work together to identify locations along the Deerfield River that could be managed to provide better visibility of the river without increasing the presence of invasive species. | Conservation Commission, Deerfield River Watershed Association, Commercial River Business Operators, Planning Board and the Mohawk Corridor Scenic Byways Committee. | 2004 |
| | Implement
recommendations of the Deerfield River Impact Committee 2003 Study. | Deerfield River Impact Committee and Select Board | 2004 |
| | Identify the most important viewsheds to protect. | Planning Board and Conservation Commission | 2005 |
| Protect
from development lands that contain productive farmland, groundwater resources, large blocks of contiguous forestland, wildlife habitat, lands along the Deerfield River, and other environmentally critical unprotected open space. | Meet with and encourage the Finance Committee to continue to pay into an APR match fund every year. | Select Board and Planning Board | Ongoing |
| | Contact
the Geology Department at UMASS to attract a graduate student to identify the yield of aquifers in town. | Board of Health | 2004 |
| | Identify areas of land that contain the most critical resources (prime farmland soils, aquifers, contiguous forests, land that provides public access to the Deerfield River, BioMap core habitat, and Living Waters core habitats (special
aquatic habitats)), to enable the town to be able to prioritize which lands would be most important to protect from development were they to become available. | Conservation Commission and the Planning Board | 2005 - 2006 |
| Support local agriculture to strengthen the long-term viability of agricultural businesses and to help ensure the retention of the Town's most significant scenic and historic agricultural
landscapes. | Put Town website URL on Town Sign. | Community Development Committee | 2005 |
| | Utilize Town website and links to the websites of Shelburne Falls Area Business Association and the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce to promote agricultural businesses. | Community Development Committee | 2005 |
| | Promote
locally grown and made products at the Mohawk Trail Visitors Center. | Community Development Committee | 2006 |
| | Develop and print a newspaper ad that shows a map of all the businesses in town and what they sell, including farms and wood product manufacturers. | Community Development Committee | 2006 |
| Encourage
land use and development patterns that preserve rural character, open space, water resources, and agricultural lands in Charlemont. | Revise the town zoning bylaws. | Planning Board | 2005 |
| Determine the feasibility of an agricultural incentive area, which can be established under the Massachusetts Right to Farm Law, Ch.40L, to protect farmers from rising property taxes, betterment
assessments, and nuisance lawsuits. | Ask local farmers to get together to discuss the feasibility of an Agriculture Incentive Area and other methods for strengthening local farm and forest-based business viability. | Planning Board and the Franklin County Regional Planning Board | 2005 |
| | Produce a workshop on estate planning and inter-generational farm transfer. | Select
Board, Conservation Commission and the Franklin County Regional Planning Board | 2005 |
| Maintain and promote the village as the economic center of the Town. | Pursue the development of the Visitors Center/Museum in Charlemont Center. | Community Development Committee | Ongoing |
