Town poised to assume control of Rez Pond and dam
By Jay TurnerIn a town meeting matter entirely separate from the Plymouth Rubber rezoning proposal, the town of Canton will seek approval from town meeting voters to acquire the rights to Reservoir Pond, which the Napleton Company had inherited when it purchased the Plymouth Rubber site in 2006.
Canton's Reservoir Pond from Pleasant Street (George Comeau photo)
Napleton, as part of a settlement agreement with Canton town officials, has agreed to make necessary repairs to the Pleasant Street dam and then donate the pond and all associated rights to the town in exchange for a hefty tax write-off.
According to Selectman Sal Salvatori, who led the negotiations on behalf of the board, both sides have done their “due diligence” and remain cautiously optimistic that the transfer, which is included in the warrant under Article 35, will be approved by voters in April.
Salvatori said the town recently completed an environmental assessment that included some sampling of the water and soil, and “everything checked out OK.” They also performed a title investigation, and while the title isn’t one standard deed — portions of the land were actually tied to licenses that had been negotiated by Paul Revere and Roger Williams Jr. — the town’s attorneys were otherwise comfortable with what they uncovered.
As for Napleton, Salvatori said they recently had the pond appraised and were given a verbal opinion of value that they found to be acceptable. He added that they have been working on the engineering and plans for the dam repairs and “should have everything completed and submitted to the Conservation Commission in time for town meeting.”
However, if voters reject the proposed transfer, Salvatori said Napleton would move forward with plans to breach the dam, which had been its first option until selectmen stepped in and presented them with a viable alternative.
On the other hand, if the transfer is accepted, then the repairs could be completed in a matter of months, barring any major setbacks.
“We’re hopeful, if everything goes well, that the repairs could be completed by the 4th of July,” Salvatori said, “but that’s being optimistic.”
He added that little would change for the typical user of the pond if the town were to assume control, although he is hoping to establish a Reservoir Pond Advisory Committee that would make recommendations as to which uses should be permitted on the waterway.
“All the townspeople will have some rights [to the pond],” he said. “It’s just a matter of how formal we would like the enforcement to be; in any case, it would be done with an emphasis on public safety.”
Click here to view the 2011 Annual Town Meeting Warrant.
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=3418
Posted by Jay Turner
on Mar 3 2011. Filed under News, Town Government.
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