Jump to: Documents Past Meetings/Minutes

Berlin, MA Rail Trail Advisory Committee

RAIL TRAIL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
I. Mission Statement
The Rail Trail Advisory Committee provides a mechanism for the Town to examine the issues in converting an existing rail line in Berlin to a recreational path.
The Committee:
* Should have regular public presentations during the course of their review to publicize their inquiry and to regularly solicit input from the public;
* Should identify and address the many questions and concerns that residents of Berlin have about the rail trail;
* Should seek information as to the actual experience of communities with existing rail trails and document that information; and
* Should consider alternatives to the rail trail, including for example the placement of some or all of it on alternate routes (e.g. the Ross Dam ).
The Committee shall develop a balanced report with a discussion of the pros/cons of the conversion and recommendations for the issues which must be addressed.

II. Issues for Consideration
The Town must come to a consensus on the many issues before the rail trail conversion can proceed. These issues include, but are not limited to:

* Physical Design Issues

* Interface and Integration with existing public ways
* Buffers to affected abutters
* Access and Parking,
* Need for any facilities (e.g. lighting, crossings, bathrooms)
* Conceptual design of the path: dimensions of the path and materials used to construct the path.

* Other Issues.

* Abutters concerns; security, privacy, property values, mitigation,
* Environmental issues; wetlands, wildlife, soil contamination,
* Safety concerns; police, fire
* Allow dogs or horses,

* Financial Issues.

* Funding; how the design and construction will be paid for, what costs to the town,
* Ongoing maintenance and costs (e.g. police coverage and trash pickup). ,

III. Membership and Operation
The Rail Trail Committee shall have 5 at-large members and a Board of Selectmen liaison. All appointments shall be indefinite, until the Board of Selectmen feels the mission of the Committee has been achieved, or that the membership needs to be changed in order to keep the work progressing. A member of the Board of Selectmen shall chair the Committee until a Chair has been elected from the membership of the Committee. A clerk shall also be elected to ensure that all meetings are properly posted and minutes of each meeting are kept. Minutes of the Committee shall be prepared and posted. The committee shall be in compliance with the Open Meeting Law, Public Records Law and the Conflict of Interest Law.


May 3, 2016 – ATM Art. 38 vote to establish committee (2nd of 3-night ATM)
June 27, 2016 – Description approved by Board of Selectmen
Rail Trail Advisory Committee – Description PAGE 1 OF 2

For Town:Berlin, MA 
Name:Rail Trail Advisory Committee
Chair:Mary Porter
Clerk:Mary Mikelk
Members:Vacancy
Mary Mikelk
Mary Porter
Susan Therrien
Vacancy
Thomas Andrew, Selectman liaison
Subscribe to Email Alerts for this board   Calendar Feed

No meetings of Rail Trail Advisory Committee are currently scheduled.

Rail Trail Advisory Committee Documents

DocumentSizeCreated
2013 Mass Central Rail Trail mcrt-expanded-notification.pdf  (download) 839 Kb Wednesday October 04, 2017 2:22 PM EDT
2013 site walk presentation.pdf  (download) 3352 Kb Wednesday October 04, 2017 2:27 PM EDT
DCR MBTA lease, Appendix A, MCRT Val Map.pdf  (download) 3633 Kb Wednesday October 04, 2017 2:21 PM EDT
DCR MTBA MassCentral ATC 99 yearlease.pdf  (download) 1298 Kb Wednesday October 04, 2017 2:20 PM EDT
Mass Highway Shared Use Paths Specs.pdf  (download) 2509 Kb Wednesday October 04, 2017 2:30 PM EDT
dcrguidelines.pdf  (download) 4063 Kb Wednesday October 04, 2017 2:24 PM EDT
mass-central-rail-trail-evaluation-of-existing-bridges-rev1.pdf  (download) 5813 Kb Wednesday October 04, 2017 2:26 PM EDT
mcrt-overview-and-guidelines-1114.pdf  (download) 2533 Kb Wednesday October 04, 2017 2:24 PM EDT

Past Meetings

TimeLocationMinutesOther Documents
Jun 13, 2018
7:30 PM EDT
Berlin Town Offices
Room 218
Not Available Details and Agenda...
May 16, 2018
7:30 PM EDT
Berlin Town Offices
Room 227
Not Available Details and Agenda...
Apr 25, 2018
7:30 PM EDT
Berlin Town Offices
Room 218
Not Available Details and Agenda...
Feb 21, 2018
7:30 PM EST
Berlin Town Offices
Room 221
Not Available Details and Agenda...
Jan 17, 2018
7:30 PM EST
Cancelled Not Available Details and Agenda...
Dec 13, 2017
7:30 PM EST
Berlin Town Offices
Room 218
Not Available Details and Agenda...
Nov 15, 2017
7:30 PM EST
Berlin Town Offices
Room 221
Minutes Available Details and Agenda...
Oct 25, 2017
7:30 PM EDT
Berlin Town Offices
Room 227
Minutes Available Details and Agenda...
Sep 27, 2017
8:00 AM EDT
Berlin Town Offices
Fire Dept. Conference Room
Minutes Available Details and Agenda...
Sep 20, 2017
7:30 PM EDT
Berlin Town Offices
Room 221
Minutes Available Details and Agenda...
Aug 23, 2017
7:30 PM EDT
Berlin Town Offices
Room 227
Minutes Available Details and Agenda...
Jul 19, 2017
7:30 PM EDT
Berlin Town Offices
Room 227
Minutes Available Details and Agenda...
Jun 27, 2017
7:00 PM EDT
Berlin Town Offices
Room 227
Minutes Available Details and Agenda...
Jun 21, 2017
7:30 PM EDT
Berlin Town Offices
Room 227
Minutes Available Details and Agenda...
May 17, 2017
7:30 PM EDT
Berlin Town Offices
Room 227
Minutes Available Details and Agenda...
Apr 19, 2017
7:30 PM EDT
Berlin Town Offices
Room 227
Minutes Available Details and Agenda...
Mar 22, 2017
7:30 PM EDT
Berlin Town Offices
Room 218
Minutes Available Details and Agenda...
Feb 22, 2017
7:30 PM EST
Berlin Town Offices
Room 218
Minutes Available Details and Agenda...
Jan 11, 2017
7:30 PM EST
Berlin Town Offices
Room 218
Minutes Available Details and Agenda...
Dec 14, 2016
7:30 PM EST
Berlin Town Offices
Room 218
Minutes Available Details and Agenda...
Nov 20, 2016
9:00 AM EST
Proposed Rail Trail - Starting at Colburn Road Not Available Details and Agenda...
Nov 09, 2016
7:30 PM EST
Berlin Town Offices
Room 218
Minutes Available Details and Agenda...
Oct 01, 2016
9:00 AM EDT
starting at the Coburn Road section Not Available Details and Agenda...
Sep 14, 2016
7:30 PM EDT
Berlin Town Offices
Room 227
Minutes Available Details and Agenda...
Aug 03, 2016
7:30 PM EDT
Berlin Town Offices
Room 206
Not Available Documents Available Details and Agenda...

For information on older meetings, please contact the Town Clerk.

To embed this page on another web site, copy This Link