State Honors a ‘Treasure’

GEORGETOWN – Carl Shreder, who chaired the town’s Conservation Commission (ConCom) for almost a quarter century, was honored last week by the state Legislature for protecting the town’s environment.
A few days after he was asked by SelectBoard chair Amy Smith to resign from the ConCom, Shreder was cited by the state House for “helping to keep the town’s open space and wetlands safe.” The citation was signed by House Speaker Ronald Marino.
The ConCom also voted to name a 40-acre tract at 66 Parish Rd. on the town’s border with Newbury the Carl F. Shreder Conservation Area.
The tract, which was once a farm and now has townhouses on a part of it, was donated to the ConCom by real estate developers. It has streams and trails, which can be accessed from the road and a recently reopened bridge that connects Newbury and Georgetown.
State Rep. Kristin Kassner, D-Hamilton, wrote of Shreder, “I was proud to honor and appreciate Carl Shreder, a volunteer who devoted almost a quarter century (24 years) to the protection and care of Georgetown’s ecological environments with great knowledge and respect to the land, water, and biological resources of Georgetown.”
Asked to comment on the award, Shreder wrote: “I have always felt that government works best when people contribute, be it at the federal, state or at the local level, and I have done all three.
“Working for a conservation commission is a thankless volunteer job. Rarely do people who serve in conservation ever get any positive recognition, especially in Georgetown, so it was most unexpected to receive these accolades. I want to sincerely thank those who made this happen. Maybe my years of service were not wasted.”
In a letter published earlier by The Town Common, George Comisky, a former ConCom member and president of the Parker River Clean Water Assn., wrote of Shreder, “Checking the online Essex County Registry in the prior 22 years, I found over 1,100 permits, deeds, certificates and other documents that bear (Shreder’s) signature.
“Carl is a man of few words, but is highly knowledgeable of state and local regulations, runs an efficient meeting and is a man of action. We should consider ourselves very fortunate to have such a dedicated volunteer as Chair of the Commission.”
Shreder resigned from the commission when BOS chair Smith asked him and commission vice chair Rachel Bancroft to stop serving on the commission. According to Shreder and Bancroft, Smith warned that if they did not resign “bad stuff” would come out about them.
Smith has not responded to requests for comment.
Shreder, saying serving on the commission was not worth hurting his health, resigned, creating what Bancroft said was a hole the town needs to fill.
“The town has lost a treasure,” Bancroft said of Shreder. “All together, the members of the ConCom do not have as much knowledge about the town’s environment as Carl does.”
She noted that Shreder worked closely for 17 years with former conservation agent Steve Przyjemski, who resigned last January because of a “hostile environment” at Town Hall. Most conservation agents resign after three or four years, not 17, Bancroft said.
“He (Shreder) had such respect for Steve. And Steve had tremendous respect for Carl,” Bancroft said.