Congratulations to the Bolton Conservation Trust and the entire community for their great effort and success in developing a much needed and much deserved town common.
The Bolton Conservation Trust has demonstrated incredible commitment to Bolton time and time again -- from saving historic farms, to preserving our winery, to providing trails throughout our conservation lands, to educating our kids about nature through in-school programs and camps. Right now our town center is a contaminated brownfield and the Trust has stepped forward in a responsible way to make this land safe, useful and beautiful for all residents. My family could not be more excited to see it come to fruition!
Back in 2011, we too did not support the Town of Bolton buying The Smith property because we thought it was too much of a risk for the town, both financially as well as managing the project, including the clean-up. Once The Conservation Trust stepped forward and purchased the property, involving trust directors giving a personal guarantee on the loans, we knew they were serious. Our family is supporting this project - we have been impressed with the project plan and follow-through. We can now start seeing the vision - Bolton deserves a beautiful Town Common and we are supporting this effort! The Demmer Family
The Bolton Conservation Trust serves a very important role in preserving natural open space in our community through private donations. Everything that the Trust supports, including the Tom Denney Nature Camp and the Four Winds educational program teach our youth to appreciate and respect the environment around us in a fun and engaging manner. The Bolton Town Common project is now bringing generations together to clean up (much needed remediation of a contaminated piece of land) and build a beautiful space where all members of the community can enjoy their time for years to come. This Trust is led by dedicated and caring individuals who appropriately solicit and consider input and ideas from the community they serve. Thank you and we will continue to support what you do!
As a resident of Bolton for twenty years, I have witnessed the impact of the Bolton Conservation Trust. With its mission of preserving the rural heritage and natural assets of Bolton, the trust has helped to shape the town with its many successful undertakings. Through perseverance and commitment of its members, the Trust helped to secure Agricultural Preservation Restrictions on key parcels in the community; the Nashoba Valley Winery and the Nicewicz and Schartner farms on West Berlin and Sawyer Roads.
Through its latest and largest endeavor, the BCT purchased the Smith property in the center of Bolton as a brownfield site with a vision of transforming it into an outdoor community gathering place.
The volunteers of the trust have a shared sense of purpose, and they have made remarkable progress toward the goal of a town common. I have been to the charrette where plans, designed with input from the community, were shared in a public forum for review and commentary. The energy for this project among its volunteers is inspiring. The Bolton Conservation Trust should be held up as a model for non-profits.
The Bolton Conservation Trust has stepped forward to transform a massive brownfield in the center of town and transform into a Town Common when no other entity was willing to take it on. I applaud their perseverance and dedication to Bolton.
Any group that puts their own political agenda before the will of the people does not deserve to have the word "Trust" in their name. The town voted not to purchase the Smith Property yet the "Trust" felled compelled to do so anyway. Now they want to shove this toxic waste land down our throat. SHAME ON YOU
The Trust is all about community - the community of Bolton. Whether preserving the rural beauty of our Town, informing the public and our children about land preservation, celebrating our agricultural heritage, or transferring our love and respect of nature to the next generation, the Bolton Conservation Trust helps build a stronger community through involvement, engagement, and participation.
I joined the Bolton Conservation Trust due to the demonstrated passion and successful actions of its volunteers in preserving the rural character and open space of the Town of Bolton, MA. I was also particularly impressed with its active leadership in environmental education in the school system and environmental Tom Denney Nature Camp, both critical to environmental awareness among our youth, many of whom have become members of the Trust and helped sustain it and its mission.
It's great that Trust is now embarked on its largest project in its history, a collaborative effort with all elements the community in the remediation of a contaminated site in the middle of Bolton and its conversion to the Bolton Town Common.
emschoepke 03/09/2015
We are disappointed to hear that you do not support this initiative. We respect your opinion, however, we'd like to share a few important points. First, our research showed that the people of the town voted against the purchase of the land a few years back, at least in part, because of the very high price tag at the time. We purchased it for less than half of the original price. Moreover, as stewards of the land, we do not believe that we should let our town center sit contaminated and abandoned. We are undergoing rigorous remediation procedures working with the DEP to ensure the land is clean. We will not open the common to the public until we are absolutely certain it meets all environmental standards for safety. Finally, this is a privately funded initiative so we aren't "shoving this down people's throats" as you suggest. We are aware that not everyone will support the initiative (although we are pleased to say that our town survey showed 99% support of the initiative). We hope that once the land is cleaned up and we create this outdoor meeting place, you will have a change of heart.