North Stonington - The Hewitt Farm Committee is welcoming the new year by making plans to get out of what co-chairman Nita Kincaid on Monday called the "maintenance mode" and look toward the future.

Since the committee was established in 2010, its members have focused on making repairs and keeping things tidy at Hewitt Farm, the land left by Fred and Flora Hewitt to the town of North Stonington. Now, they are hoping to move beyond that and make some improvements to the property.

A major project for the group has been the repair of Hewitt Dam, a 19th-century structure on the Shunock River that was damaged in the 2010 flood and rated by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection as Class B, or a significant hazard.

With the end of the dam repair finally in sight, Kincaid and other committee members are eager to move on to projects that they say will make Hewitt Farm more appealing to community members as a recreational area.

"I think it's time, maybe, to pony up," said Kincaid during a Monday afternoon meeting, "and say, hey, we want to take a little risk here."

"Ponying up" would involve either asking the town for more than the commission's usual budget of $5,000, which wouldn't cover new projects, or soliciting donations for additional work.

The Hewitt Farm Committee has already raised approximately $3,400, which it keeps in a separate committee account that Kincaid said is like "a savings account that can only be tapped for special purposes."

Committee members raised several proposals for modest upgrades to Hewitt Farm, keeping in mind the committee's mission to "maintain the property as a fine representation of traditional New England beauty."

Their suggestions included a better parking area, a nice sign announcing its location just off of Route 2, bathrooms, an information center, a pavilion and improvements to the cabin and farmhouse on the property.

k.catalfamo@theday.com

Twitter: @kccatalfamo