07/30/2009
By Lisa Loomis
Members of the Mad River Path Association board sought and received approval from the Waitsfield Select Board to pursue an extension of the path from Irasville to the Lareau Swim Hole.
The board approved the proposal at its July 27 meeting. Currently the recreation path ends at Fiddler's Green. Board members want to extend the path either across two private properties to get to town-owned Austin land north of the swim hole, or along the Route 100 right of way to get to the Austin property. The proposed route would run along the river across the Austin property and the Lareau Swim Hole.
ALONG THE RIVER
Board member Mike Ware, in a letter to the select board, said that members of the path association board had not been able to reach an agreement with landowners whose property the path would need to cross to run along the river from Fiddler's Green to the Lareau Swim Hole.
"Ideally, we'd cross that private property down near the river and then cross the Mill Brook with a bridge and bring the path along the wetlands to the Lareau," Ware said this week.
He and other board members are meeting with Shannon Morrison from the Agency of Natural Resources seeking her input on how to traverse the wetlands safely.
TWO OF THREE EASEMENTS
In other path news, Ware reported that two out of three easements had been secured to extend the path from Bridge Street behind the Bridge Street Marketplace, along the river to William Maclay Architects and Planners. From there the path will run along the sidewalk until Carroll Road where it will cross Route 100 and continue south via a boardwalk and mowed section to Shaw's.
"This week Richard Daley, the manager of Shaw's and I discussed with Justin Girard, owner of IMS Real Estate Management Services, the possibility of having Girard's company mow the grassy section from the end of the boardwalk to the Skatium Road and from there across Brothers' field to Shaw's," Ware said.
"We were delighted when they agreed to mow that section for free when they are mowing Shaw's," he added.
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