Southwick Open Space Panel Agrees to Take On December Recreation Plan Deadline

Other Committee · Meeting of January 27, 2026

Southwick's Open Space Management and Planning Committee voted to take on the update of the town's open space and recreation plan, with a December rough-draft deadline, rather than wait for a separate committee to be formed. The three-member panel — Connor Fleury, Bill Price, and Martha Kane — heard from Conservation Commission members Dennis Clark and Chris Pratt, who argued against standing up a second committee and said the Conservation Commission would take up the matter at its Monday meeting. Pratt told the group his hope had always been that "you would be in place to keep updating the plan as new things happen" rather than scrambling at the end.

Completing the plan is tied directly to the town's continued eligibility for open space grants. The committee also mapped out spring maintenance tasks including filing a Request for Determination of Applicability for erosion work at North Pond, removing non-compliant bluebird and barred owl nest boxes at the Sofonowski property, and clearing a large poison ivy patch at Woodland Ridge conservation land.

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Source: the Other Committee meeting of January 27, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.