Town Admin Bob Driscoll chairs the Bristol Ferry Town Common working session.

In an occasionally heated session tonight at Portsmouth Town Hall, over 40 residents — mainly from the area near Bristol Ferry Town Common — met to discuss the proper uses and boundaries of this public space and what some argued was encroachment by abutters. Five members of the Town Council (Karen Gleason, Len Katzman, Huck Little, Jim Seveney, and Bill West) sat and listened (okay, Tailgunner stood by the door much of the time, but you get the idea), and although Assistant Town Planner Gary Crosby had written a detailed management plan, the assembled citizens barely mentioned it, spending most of the time instead in lively give-and-take.

"Like it or not, we're inventing the wheel," said Town Administrator Bob Driscoll, who chaired the meeting and led the group through some warm-up discussions aimed at clarifying the goals for the site. He prompted the group with a series of activities that could take place at the Common, from reading a book to having a bonfire, to help calibrate expectations. "Out of this," said Driscoll, "We get a better sense of how you'd like to see the property managed."

While people seemed comfortable with things like reading books and yoga classes, even potential uses like "playing Frisbee" prompted a few "no"s. One criterion that rapidly emerged was the size of any group using the space, and the implications for parking. And even though there was a general sense that the Common was primarily a space for the neighborhood, Driscoll repeatedly reminded the group that a public space, by definition is accessible to "Everyone who is lawfully in the US legally — or has not been caught by ICE." The real challenge, he said, was "how do you manage the property to make it attractive to the people who you want to use the property."

It rapidly became clear the group felt there was work to be done that was far more basic. Doug Smith, a member of the local citizens group that had been working with the Town Conservation Committee, articulated the central theme that ran through much of the evening, saying, "We need to know where the Common is and where it isn't." Resident Barbara Gee echoed that thought, cutting right to the basics: "Define what the piece of property is, and mow it."

When Driscoll tried to argue the point, saying that the location was "an obvious thing," he was met with a loud chorus of "No." Several speakers pointed out that the neighborhood group, working with the Conservation Committee, had already purchased 9 granite markers and agreed that setting them out along the boundary of the Common would help create a better sense of the space. While Driscoll cautioned the group that precise placement would require a legal survey, he suggested that the DPW would set out some marker flags immediately. (He was later overheard promising the chair of the Conservation Commission that it would be done tomorrow afternoon.)

There was a good deal of acrimonious back-and-forth over the alleged actions of some abutters which it would not serve the purpose of coming to a good resolution to repeat. Suffice it to say that the sense of the group was to urge the Town to more vigorously mark and preserve the public character of the space. To that end, Driscoll suggested, and the group agreed, that the current neighborhood working group be expanded, and that they coordinate with the Conservation Committee to bring a recommended management plan to the Town Council for approval. Everyone who was at the meeting tonight was invited to participate, and was promised regular e-mail updates on progress.

"We haven't solved every problem," said Driscoll, as the meeting adjourned at 9:30, "But we have a way forward. The important thing is to move forward in good faith. We're all neighbors."