Letter: Brick walkways planned for Grafton Common will need expensive upkeep

The following letter was sent to the Historic District Commission, Temporary Town Administrator Carter Terenzini, and Select Board Chair Peter Carlson and shared to Grafton Common:

I viewed a recent broadcast of the HDC meeting held and recorded on November 12th. Now that all public Zoom meetings are recorded, one no longer has to rely on meeting minutes alone to know what was discussed during a meeting of interest.

A major part of your HDC meeting on November 12th was devoted to discussion of the new brick paver walkway and the impacts preparing the necessary walkway bed could have on the remaining, existing healthy trees.

I was glad to see that the advice of a Professional Arborist/Tree Consultant, Bill Stendrup of The Davey Tree Group, is now playing a meaningful role in HDC discussions and deliberations related to the walkway portion of the Common Restoration Project.

Your Consultant’s comments were thoughtful, insightful and on point.

During your discussion on the Common’s walkway widths and impacts on nearby trees, much time was spent on how to best accommodate a tree’s structural root flare, which critically supports the surviving trees, while preventing uplifting damage to a new, brick paver walkway. 

Your Consultant clearly stated that if a walkway’s bordering tree structural root flare is disrupting the existing blacktop, which is presently the case, it will also disrupt any new brick walkway placed above it. 

The brick paver walkway, if installed, will create an ongoing need for increased maintenance that does not presently exist with the blacktop walkways.

This future maintenance cost burden can never be alleviated by CPA funds and will be a workforce and financial burden for the town in perpetuity. CPA funds are not allowed to be used for maintenance of any project.. 

In light of the above facts, I ask that you give careful thought to setting aside your TM approved brick walkway plan requiring approximately 4600sf at (est.) $32/sf or $147,200 and give reconsideration to replacing the aging, root disrupted existing blacktop with new blacktop material at a much lower cost, (est.) $4.40/sf or $20,240. This action will not burden the town with costly on-going upkeep and maintenance of brick walkways on the Town Common. Estimates were provided by Graves Engineering.

I also suggest that the Select Board ask for a formal review by the HDC of this portion of the approved Grafton Common Restoration Project prior to developing upcoming Project Bid Specifications that will include these new walkways plans. 

Thank you in advance for your thoughtful consideration of my concern and suggestions. 

Respectfully submitted,

Bill Yeomans 

A Concerned Resident and lover of our Town Common