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 In addition to revisiting Pay As You Throw, Representative Town Meeting members will be asked to save the Chestnut Hill reservoir from the Selectboard by voting no when asked to sell it on March 20.
As readers may recall. the Selectboard asked for an engineering report to find out what options were available to meet state safety requirements. Option #2, a $219,000 fix that keeps the reservoir pretty much as is, was endorsed by Public Works Director Steve Barrett and a number of residents, but the Selectboard curiously decided to put it up for sale instead with a vote of 3-2.
Supporters of the historic dam would now like Town Meeting representatives to reject the proposal to sell the Chestnut Hill Reservoir, and have prepared an informational sheet to explain the situation from their point of view.
First off, they say, it's a scenic location, a home to many animals, and greatly enjoyed by visitors. It's close to downtown, has a long history, is used by nature-exploring schoolkids and a habitat to be preserved.
Second, any development there would require repaving the road up to Chestnut Hill to accommodate trucks, and that would cost the Town money.
In addition, they say the permitting process would be a big hassle with it being an historic structure and habitat, and there would be legal challenges by neighbors if any construction was planned, making it unattractive for buyers.
They feel the Selectboard wasn't thinking through the implications of their decision and were voting out of "financial expediency."
They also remind Town Meeting members that John Allen, a former Selectboard member who wanted to sell Chestnut Hill, has been replaced with reservoir supporter Daryl Pillsbury.
Reservoir supporters say "it is unrealistic for the Town of Brattleboro to expect that sale of the Chestnut Hill Reservoir is a viable means of avoiding the cost of bringing the dam up to State code," and "The Selectboard could save even more money by selling Living Memorial Park and other public properties. Selling valuable public assets is not a legitimate budgetary tactic."
Instead, they say, go with Option #2 and bring the Chestnut Hill Reservoir up to code. They believe it is cost-competitive and good sense for the Town.
To see how this unfolds, stay tuned to iBrattleboro. Representative Town Meeting Day will be streaming live here on March 20.
(You can search around the Brain Trust for pictures of Chestnut Hill and Highland Park, the former in-town park and pathways near the reservoir.)
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After reading the ibrattleboro account of the reservoir situation, I can only chuckle. Who would, for example, call a fenced in, decaying cement pond, half filled with black water ‘scenic’? No animals can call this structure ‘home’; there is no place to rest, let alone nest. The few ducks that visit the area always end up in the adjacent vernal pond because it provides cover. About two years ago, several aquatic birds stopped over and died in the pond from unknown causes. And ‘nature-exploring school kids’? In order to explore the water they need to climb the four-foot tall chain link fence and hang over the sides (the water is six feet lower than the concrete sidewalls). The only thing in the water is bullfrog and catfish – both artificially introduced by children from the neighborhood. And speaking of children, whenever they go over the fence, mine included, the neighbors always tell them to get out – saying it is unsafe to play there.
Looking at the infrastructure of the neighborhood, if my memory serves me well, the Brattleboro capital plan had scheduled Chestnut Hill for repaving back in the late 1990’s. Right now, the road is a cracked, potholed mess due to age and frost heaves. It needs to repaving regardless of what happens to the reservoir. Another concern is the far corner where the ledge on one side and fence on the other blocks Town emergency equipment from making the turn.
Speaking to the issue of what to do with the ‘unsafe’ dam. While I support the option to restore the dam and refill the pond, I cannot in good conscious support paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair something that no one can use and that benefits only my neighbors and me.
Essentially, if we do not do something different, the utility rate-payers will be asked to spend money to continue to lock away a piece of valuable real estate so no one can use it. If the Town is going to spend money on this, it has always been my desire to fill it and open it up to the community at large. By doing this, the rate-payers actually get something for their money - something that we can all use.