Bob Brown, Author at Natick Report

Natick Town Meeting, Summer edition: July 11

July 11, 2020 by Bob Brown

Natick Annual Town Meeting 2020 has been pushed to this warm & humid Saturday, July 11, and is being held onle only. Here is the info for zooming into the meeting for Town Meeting members: https://www.natickma.gov/1725/2020-Spring-Annual-Town-Meeting

If you are not a Town Meeting Member, you may watch the proceedings live on Natick’s Government Access Channel, Comcast Channel 9, RCN Channel 15 or Verizon Channel 28. You needed to hit up the moderator ahead of time if you wanted to address Town Meeting.

The warrant is below:[gview file=”https://www.natickreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Warrant.Executed.pdf”]

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Kayaking at Natick’s Fisk Pond: Not what I expected

July 10, 2020 by Bob Brown

The first trick to kayaking at Natick’s Fisk Pond is figuring out where to drop in your watercraft.

I did a bit of reconnaissance and wound up rejecting a little clear-out and path down to the pond near the intersection of Rte. 135 and Speen Street kind of across from CVS. It could work, if you have better balance than I do.

I settled instead on a clearing a couple hundred feet into the Henry Wilson Trail off of Rte. 135. To get there, I parked in the Middlesex Path lot, near the new dog park, on the other side of Rte. 135. So I then had to lug my kayak across the Rte. 135 crosswalk, which proved simpler than I though it would…a kind driver stopped to let me pass.

Are there are public access points I overlooked? natickreport@gmail.com

I looked around for signs just to make sure I wasn’t going to pollute an off-limits reservoir (I’d already looked on the town website but didn’t find much on Fisk Pond at all). Once satisfied I wasn’t going to get in trouble, it was a snap to slide the kayak into shallow water and I was on my way onto Fisk Pond.

As an aside, the body of water is referred to as Fiske Pond on the state pond map and some past Natick annual reports. (Apparently there’s a bit of controversy over the name.) Fisk Pond is an extension of Lake Cochituate and part of the Sudbury-Assabet-Concord watershed.

My inspiration for the paddle was actually to go from Fisk Pond to Lake Cochituate, which sits just across Rte. 135 (See also: “Kayaking Lake Cochituate in (mostly) Natick”). For some reason I had it in my head that I’d be able to go from one to the other via a culvert under the road. But as I quickly discovered, there’s no tunnel there, it’s dammed off in that area where the old fishing pier stood.

That was my second mistake. Turns out that wasn’t even technically a fishing pier, but rather remnants of a maintenance access platform for the horseshoe dam at that point of the Pond, according to helpful souls on a local Facebook page. Not to say it wasn’t extensively used for fishing over the years, and even is still, with nimble anglers skirting the fencing around the dilapidated wooden structure.

That left me with spinning around the pond for about 45 minutes, with only a couple of fishermen standing on the perimeter to keep me company. Fisk Pond is surrounded by trees and edges along Dell Park Cemetery, Rte. 135, and Speen Street, with a few nooks and crannies to explore. I did not venture toward Course Brook past Pond Street, so not sure if that is navigable.

While scenic enough, Fisk Pond wasn’t quiet. Traffic roared even on an early July Monday afternoon.

But I tried to keep my focus on what was around me on the pond.

Lily pads and native purple wildflowers called Pickerelweed cover large sections of the water’s edge. The 67-acre pond not long ago was overrun by water chestnut, boasts a company that handled the initial cleanup.

The day I kayaked there it teemed with skittish painted turtles, quick to plunk off their logs whenever I came near. A few waterfowl swam around, one making quite a ruckus by splashing dozens of feet at a time. While I didn’t bring a fishing rod, I could see plenty of fish through the water, a translucent brown close up.

Beavers have built an impressive lodge, too.

Fisk Pond was definitely worth a look, but it’s onward to the much larger Lake Cochituate for my next outing.

(Thank you readers for setting me straight on a few facts in this post (re: native vs. invasives, beaver lodge vs. dam, etc. Love the crowdsourcing!)

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Natick Service Council taps tech industry veteran as executive director

July 9, 2020 by Bob Brown

Natick Service Council, a non-profit organization that helps Natick neighbors in need, has named Dan Shea as its executive director.

Dan Shea (photo via Natick Service Council)

He is a familiar face in these parts, having been part of the Natick community for 20-plus years, as he, his wife and two children moved to Natick from Charlotte in 1999. His contributions to the town have included involvement in Natick Rotary Club activities such as Tour de Natick and Natick Days.

Shea comes to Natick Service Council after nearly 40 years in sales, management and other roles at technology companies such as IBM and Arrow Electronics. He looks forward to working with a board and staff he describes as an integrated team.

“The skills I developed while working in the corporate world complement the requirements of the Natick Service Council: Leading a team, adapting to changes in your environment, creating a measurable plan with goals and executing that plan, being financially and operationally efficient,” he says. “These are all skills that transcend the industry you are in and even extend to your personal life. ”

Shea is joining Natick Service Council at a time when more Natick neighbors are experiencing economic uncertainty.

“COVID-19 has introduced increased uncertainty and challenges for all of us and we want to ensure everyone in town knows that the NSC is here to help in this unprecedented time. Our case workers are exceptional at understanding people’s needs, reaching out to the resources available in Metrowest and providing support. Our programs team is hard at work on our back to school backpack program while also planning our fall and winter programs.”

The Natick Service Council has had to change how it operates during the pandemic.

“We have not been using volunteers or accepting food or clothing donations and we have been working with our clients remotely,” Shea notes. “We are eagerly looking forward to the time when we can engage with the community again on a face-to-face basis.”

Shea succeeds Greg Tutuny, who stepped down as executive director after nine years. Board President Carol Gloff has been serving as interim Executive Director.

More: Natick charitable and community action groups

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Natick 180 Steering Committee online meeting on July 8

July 7, 2020 by Bob Brown

Zoom into an online steering committee meeting from 8:30-10am on Wednesday, July 8 for Natick 180, a community coalition that focuses on preventing and reducing substance abuse in town.

Agenda items (embedded below) include reports from police, fire, health and school departments, as well as partners such as MetroWest Medical Center, SOAR Natick, SPARK Kindness and Natick Interfaith Clery Association.

Natick 180 focuses on substances ranging from alcohol to opioids.

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Classic & custom cars to cruise through Natick on July 4

July 3, 2020 by Bob Brown

There’s no official July 4 parade in Natick this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but there is scheduled to be a less elaborate convoy of classic and custom cars and motorcycles cruising through Natick and neighboring communities on Saturday morning.

The Modifiers Car Club has arranged the activity, which starts at the Cole Center in Natick on 179 Boden Lane at 10:15am. The route will take the vehicles to Sherborn, Holliston, Ashland and Framingham, and will end at C&L Frosty back in Sherborn.

Rough schedule:

*10:15-10:30am: Boden Lane, Hartford Street to Speen Street

*10:20-10:40: Route 27 South into Natick Center, left onto West Central street (Route 135 East) to Union Street to South Natick (Route 16 west) toward Sherborn

*10:40ish: Sherborn center Follow Route 16 into Holliston center

*10:50ish: Holliston center to Highland Street to Prentice Street to Hopkinton (Route 85)

*11:15ish: Hopkinton center Route 135 east

Will remain on Route 135 through Ashland, Framingham, back into Natick

*11:30ish: Turning onto Mill Street, to Speen Street, to Coolidge Street to Route 27 in Sherborn

*11:30-11:45ish Ending in Sherborn center

The Modifiers are regulars at the Wheels of Wellesley event held in May during Wellesley’s Wonderful Weekend, but that event was scrapped this year due to the pandemic.