Committee to study uses for West Main open space
By Catie Foertsch Contributing Writer

Westborough - The Board of Selectmen voted Sept. 11 to create an ad hoc committee to develop a list of possible uses for the Lee property, the 24-acre open space parcel the town owns on West Main Street. The nine-member committee will consist of representatives from several town boards and committees, along with two at-large members.

The West Main parcel was given to the town by developer Francis Zarette in exchange for the right to build 300 condos on Gleason Street near the MBTA station, on the site of an old gravel pit. The exchange of high-density development for the preservation of pristine open space was the result of innovative ideas suggested in the town's Master Plan.

David Freed, chair of the Open Space Preservation Committee (OSPC), asked the selectmen to allow his committee to do the work rather than appointing a separate committee. The OSPC was made up of five at-large members along with representatives from the Planning Board, Board of Selectmen, Recreation Commission and Conservation Commission, Freed said, and was already "up to speed" on the rules and regulations regarding use of open space.

The selectmen declined to charge the OSPC with listing potential uses for the Lee property.

Board of Selectmen Chair Susan Abladian said she'd heard from many residents about uses for the property, and there was a great deal of diff erence between what older residents and residents with young children wanted to see there. Suggested uses included sports fields, a multi-purpose park, a boat ramp, leaving it in its natural state, and building a new library. Abladian suggested that the committee ought to hold public hearings to gather information about the town's ideas for use.

"What the town can aff ord and what traffic will bear," she said, should also be factored in.

The ad hoc committee will be made up of representatives from the OSPC, the Board of Selectmen, the Planning Board, the Recreation Commission, the Department of Public Works, the Conservation Commission and the Westborough Community Land Trust. Residents who are interested in serving as an atlarge member should contact Town Coordinator Henry Danis at 508-366-3030.