Committee Dives Into New Master Plan For Drummer Boy Park

BREWSTER – Drumming up support for Brewster’s plans for Drummer Boy Park hasn’t been a cakewalk (and especially not a boardwalk).

But the newly constituted Drummer Boy Park advisory committee is working towards bringing a new master plan before the town focused on the park proper. The group will present an update/report at the annual town meeting and is working on a survey to take the temperature on several proposals, including an open-air pavilion near the parking area.

The park, which used to be the site of a Revolutionary War museum, was purchased by the town in 1988, and the original master plan dates from 1995. The locale now includes a wildflower meadow, a historic village and windmill, a bandstand for band concerts and wide open spaces to host antique and craft fairs and other special events. Just last month Santa Claus visited to view the Christmas Tree lighting, so the park attracts the best of people.

The master plan was updated in 2021 and included a boardwalk to connect Drummer Boy to Wing Island. Although it was initially approved, opposition grew. At the November 2022 town meeting, $225,000 for storm water drainage, part of phase one plans, was postponed indefinitely as many voters raised concern about the boardwalk and mechanisms for approval.

At a special town meeting last March more than 800 voters showed up to denounce the boardwalk plans and referred the 2021 master plan to a newly constituted committee that would focus on parking and improvements to the Drummer Boy site and leave out any discussion of Wing Island. The annual town meeting in May asked the select board to request the state legislature to transfer custody of Wing Island to the conservation commission.

During the first week of 2024, the new advisory committee met to shore up plans for the spring town meeting. Much of the park has drainage issues including pooling water, so there was discussion of parking locations and drainage.

“It’s critical people understand just how much water is an issue there,” committee member Allyson Felix observed.

The 2021 master plan will focus on connectivity, accessibility and site amenity improvements.

“The focus was on expanding the existing trails network and providing better connectivity between Cedar Ridge and Drummer Boy and the meadow and village properties mainly through new paved paths,” Town Manager Peter Lombardi told the committee, “and there were proposed improvements to the gazebo structure, a new playground as well as replacement of the existing building either with a new shade pavilion or reusing some portion of the structure.”

Natural Resources Director Chris Miller said the shade pavilion would also be a good spot for signage on the wall about wetlands, length of the trails and viewpoints. The total square footage of signage that can be on the property is limited.

“I was thinking myself that it would be a roof structure, open air on the sides, a concrete slab and we could bring in picnic tables or something more formal,” Miller said, “It would see a lot of birthday parties for kids and things like that would be there.”

Planning for the property can be tricky because many different groups are involved.

“An overwhelming majority of our residents don’t fully understand that there are multiple properties owned by different entities within that campus. They just think it’s all town property,” Lombardi said.

Brewster has asked consultants the Horsley Witten Group to update the cost estimates for the master plan — which are now several years old — for the next meeting of the committee.

“At some point it’s important we inventory all the different uses of the site,” committee member Jillian Douglass said, “because at some point you’ve got to know what you're designing for. If there are future things that would need other features or other work it would be important to keep that [in mind].”

Lombardi said the town didn’t anticipate any major new uses. If anything, some uses might be shifted to the Sea Camps Bay Property. Miller noted any major change in use would require town meeting approval.

There was some discussion of viewing areas at the Cedar Ridge reserve, but that land is under the care of the conservation commission.

“There are some rare species on the marsh in that area and we’ve mapped that out,” Miller said, noting that the state Department of Environmental Protection might also be involved.

The committee is preparing a survey for residents to make their thoughts known.

“We’ve already identified four different areas that we think are primary areas — parking safety, circulation, water management and drainage, improved accessibility, and amenities,” Felix said. “So maybe we come up with four questions for each.”

Hal Minis offered to prepare a draft survey based on his experience with the vision planning committee.

“That would be great,” committee chair Katherine Scott said. Lombardi added the committee members could send him suggested questions and he’d work with Minis on a draft for the next committee meeting.

“More people will fill out a survey than attend a meeting,” Lombardi noted. “Some of the concerns voiced at town meeting, even though the plan had been approved at town meeting, and appropriations had been approved, people felt that they weren’t aware. They didn’t have a chance to weigh on and this would give them that.”

That voice will hopefully smooth this master plan’s path as it skips the marsh and centers on the park.