Town officially takes ownership of Reservoir Pond

The long-running saga involving repairs to the Reservoir Pond Dam is now over and the town is now officially the owner of the property.

Selectman Sal Salvatori, who has been the point person on the matter and who negotiated an agreement between the town and the Napleton Company, announced Tuesday night that the state Office of Dam Safety has certified the dam repairs and the ownership transfer is now complete.

Selectmen congratulated Salvatori on his diligence and creativity with the negotiations, which ended with an agreement by Napleton to donate the pond and dam to the town. Salvatori recommended that they form an advisory board to help address maintenance and usage issues.

In other news Tuesday night, selectmen reported that the town has spent $451,493 on snow removal operations this year, which includes the past weekend’s blizzard. The town originally budgeted $264,735 and now has a deficit of $186,748. The DPW estimates it will need another $120,000 for snow removal costs for the balance of the year.

Selectmen Chairman Bob Burr signed a state of emergency for the town starting at 1 p.m. on Friday, February 8, that remained in effect as of Tuesday night. The declaration means that the town could be eligible for reimbursement of storm-related expenses from the state and federal government. The DPW was due to remove all snow from the center of town Tuesday night. Selectmen asked residents to help clear snow around fire hydrants and mailboxes.

In other news:

* Fire Chief Charlie Doody gave a budget briefing to selectmen, indicating that he will need $71,412 more than last year’s budget to cover the operations of the Fire Department, ambulance, and emergency management office. One of the additional expenditures is for a fire educator in the schools, including instruction at Canton High School for CPR and dorm safety. Doody is also seeking $50,000 for overtime and $18,000 for software program maintenance, in addition to funding for equipment safety inspection costs, EMT online training, emergency management notification, and supplies for volunteers.

* Burr told the Citizen that a water leak recently occurred at the former Knights of Columbus building, which the town had purchased for possible use as a new senior center. He said the leak caused a minimal amount of damage and is not expected to greatly impact renovation costs. He said in hindsight, the pipes should have been drained. The Building Renovations Committee is meeting with the project engineer and the Council on Aging to come up with more concrete renovation estimates. Burr said selectmen will honor the wishes of town meeting voters and will sell the property if voters so choose. Town Administrator Bill Friel had previously indicated that as much as $800,000 in free cash could be made available for building renovations.

* Selectmen held a moment of silence for the passing of Canton Police Officer Ralph Centeno, who died February 8 from pancreatic cancer. Selectman John Connolly attended the wake in Boston Tuesday night, representing the board.

* Selectmen approved a request to hold the annual Luce Fun Run on May 5 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. contingent on the approval of the fire and police chiefs.

* The 2013 motor vehicle excise tax bills have been mailed to vehicle owners with payments due March 8.

* Selectmen will next meet on Tuesday, February 26, at 7 p.m.

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Posted by Mike Berger on Feb 14 2013. Filed under News, Town Government. Both comments and pings are currently closed.