The Trails Committee at its meeting Wednesday night discussed how it should handle money that the Community Preservation Committee previously appropriated to the Upper Charles Trail Committee and the Trail Coordination and Management Committee before both groups were abolished.

The Select Board voted to disband the UCTC and the TCMC last September and make a fresh start with a single committee. It appointed nine members to the Trails Committee in January.

The bulk of the meeting focused on what to do with $48,400 previously allocated to the UCTC by the CPC. Former UCTC chair Jane Moran gave a presentation that highlighted the former group’s activity and how the money had been intended to be used. She explained that the UCTC was formed in 2012 to create Hopkinton’s section of a multipurpose trail from Milford to Ashland that would link these communities to Holliston, Framingham and Sherborn in a 28-mile loop trail. One condition of its charge was that the Hopkinton section must include the Center Trail.

The UCTC’s initial work focused on developing route options. After a preliminary report was completed, engineering firm VHB was hired to conduct pre-engineering studies that initially proposed “over 13 different phases” for the proposed length of the trail, according to Moran. These eventually were consolidated into seven segments. In 2016, the UCTC started preparing reports on the segments. She showed a map of Segment 1 that VHB created in 2019.

“We did run into significant concerns when we introduced it to the public over Segment 7 that included the crossings of Hayden Rowe,” she said.

After some public outcry over that segment, the UCTC turned its focus to the first trail segment, which would go from Hopkinton State Park to the planned International Marathon Center off East Main Street. In 2023, Town Meeting voted in favor of the CPC’s recommendation that $48,400 be used for a preliminary design of Segment 1.

The CPC later extended the grant and now is seeking answers as to how the new committee intends to use this money. Moran said CPC chair Ken Weismantel told her that “we would have to use the same scope of work,” which included preliminary engineering, wetlands assessment, topographical evaluation and trail mapping. A different engineer could be used. Another option Weismantel gave Moran is to have the committee develop a new approach, “as long as the end result supports a multiuse trail with a hard surface.”

A question arose as to why a hard surface had to be used. Moran said she was told that, when awarding grants, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation is “really looking for hard surface for the optimal best use” to be inclusive of people with disabilities as well as skateboarders and scooter users. Grants are awarded on a point system, and hard-surface proposals generate more points.

This statement provoked a lengthy discussion as to whether a hard surface was an actual policy or a requirement for this project. The cost of using and maintaining a hard-surface trail was another concern mentioned by member Jack Buckley. He said he would like the state’s Department of Conservation and Recreation to provide an explanation.

“What CPC thinks and Town Meeting voted are not always the same thing,” added chair Peter LaGoy. He said VHB would be more likely to recommend a hard surface because it is much more expensive, which increases the firm’s commission.

“Our trail is unique in the topography,” said Moran. “You have to admit it’s quite steep in a lot of areas.”

If the committee wants to use the $48,400 as proposed, an engineer would need to sign off on the scope of work in early April, she said. If not, the committee could vote to return the $48,400 to the CPC and make an application for a different scope of work at a later date.

LaGoy said the proposed route is quite hilly. He suggested having the trail go from the Southborough commuter rail station.

Said LaGoy: “Do we hold on to the $48,000 for a route that maybe isn’t ideal?”

In the end, the committee voted unanimously to retain the money, contingent upon a consultation between LaGoy and Weismantel to see if a portion of it could be used for preliminary work.

The committee also voted unanimously to approve returning three CPC grants made to the TCMC totaling $45,173 for projects that had not been started. They included bridges and boardwalks at Legacy Farms South, trailhead parking at Pond Street and engineering for the western trail route proposed to go from Center Trail to the Hughes Farm Trail.

Additionally, the committee voted to retain remaining funds that are being used for ongoing projects. This includes $107,000 for trail development from Loop Road to the Chamberlain Street extension, $3,650 for drainage work on the middle school cross country course and $5,000 to develop trailhead parking on Ash Street by Elmwood Farm.