Dighton Open Space Committee Eyes Land Trust, Rethinks Cleanup Strategy After Setbacks

DIGHTON — July 2, 2025 — Dighton Open Space Committee advances land trust research and plans a new cleanup attempt after two consecutive failures drew no public volunteers. Chair Jonathan Gail told the three-member panel Wednesday that back-to-back cleanup events in June — one a general town effort, one focused on the North Dighton playground and organized in coordination with Junior Parks and Recreation Commissioner Kevin Smith — generated zero email responses and zero volunteers despite promotion through the Select Board's email list of several hundred residents and the town website. The committee voted 3-0 to set its next meeting for August 6 and is targeting either mid-to-late August for a rescheduled playground cleanup or September 13 as a fallback for a broader town effort. Members are also working to invite land trust representatives from Westport and Sandwich to that August meeting as the committee explores whether Dighton should establish its own land trust, a question Gail said he would also raise directly with Town Administrator Ralph and Select Board Chair Peter. The committee agreed to submit individual written comments on a draft conservation subdivision bylaw before a September meeting where it will assemble a joint set of proposed language changes — all while noting that Dighton's affordable housing percentage has fallen below roughly four percent and the town is already past a previous deadline for its state-required housing production plan.