HUDSON — Residents shared what they enjoyed about Hudson’s open space resources and what they thought could be improved during an open space and recreation plan public workshop on June 22.
Director of Planning and Community Development Kristina Johnson said the input of those in attendance will inform the updated Open Space and Recreation Plan. Kellie King of Horsley Witten Group Inc. said open space in the plan would be defined as public and private undeveloped land like the Rail Trail. Recreation would focus on places like Sauta Fields or Centennial Beach.
The current plan was written in 2016.
“We’re really excited to be doing this focus based recreation plan. The last plan is pretty outdated. Hudson has changed a lot,” said Conservation Agent Pam Helinek.
Helinek said she wanted the seven-year plan to reflect what Hudson residents believe are the open space and recreation needs going forward.
She noted that they are “really excited to be working with Horsley Witten Group Inc.,” which she said has a lot of experience handling the open space needs of different towns.
“The new plan brings everyone to the table, and it plans how the things that people want to be done can be achieved,” King said.
Residents weigh in
Residents broke up into three groups to discuss what the town did well, what could be improved and where more efforts could be made in the future in terms of recreation.
The Rail Trail, Community Garden and Centennial Beach, as well as Danforth Falls and soccer fields around town, were highlighted in the groups as places the attendees both liked to visit and thought the town was doing well in terms of having them as assets.
Events like Hudson Fest and the Holiday Stroll also came up as a positive aspect for the town.
That said, participants made recommendations to make these places better for people, such as new equipment for playgrounds; improving the conditions of the recreation facilities like Sauta Fields and the tennis and basketball courts and more signage about the proximity of wildlife ecosystems.
Participants also suggested having an invasive plant removal plan and more education around native habitats in open space areas.
The residents noted that more could be done to get grants for the playgrounds in town, provide people with public art and outdoor programming in the town’s parks and offer more places to put trash to keep resources like the Rail Trail clean.
The moderators of the three groups helped summarize the overall feedback received.
Krista Moravec of Horsley Witten Group Inc. said the workshop was just one opportunity for Hudson residents to give input on the plan. King noted earlier that there would be another workshop after a draft plan is written.
“We are going to continue to engage people,” said Moravec.
She encouraged ideas and feedback from town residents through the www.hudsonosrp.com site.
She added, “Please feel free to drop us some ideas.”
