Town nears deal on Revere site, dam repairs

Note: The full version of this story appears in the February 7 print edition.

Town officials are expected to reach a final agreement in the coming week with Canton Holdings LLC to acquire the over seven-acre parcel of open space at the Paul Revere Heritage Site as well as the historic rolling mill and barn structures located within the development.

The town is finalizing a deal to acquire the Revere rolling mill and barn along with adjacent parkland. (Jay Turner photo)

The agreement also includes a figure to settle a dispute over repairs to the Reservoir Pond dam, formerly owned by the Napleton Company, which also owns Canton Holdings.

Previous repairs to the dam were completed by Napleton in 2012, but engineers from the town’s consulting firm, Stephens Associates, found that the repairs did not fully address uncontrolled seepage of water at the dam site. The town then subsequently hired an outside contractor to perform the new repairs this fall — a costly undertaking that necessitated the closure of Pleasant Street to through traffic from Labor Day to early December.

Selectmen will await the final passage of the agreement before announcing any details about the dam repair settlement. However, they did announce plans to file a town meeting warrant article to pay town debts associated with the most recent dam repairs. Selectmen Chairman Mark Porter said the final closing could come within a week.

In a related matter, Porter, who had been traveling internationally over the past month, said he was surprised to learn upon his return to town about the installation of a large plaque at the dam site commemorating the completion of the dam repairs and listing the town officials involved as well as the contractor. Porter said he learned of the plaque’s existence through letters to the editor published recently in the Canton Citizen from residents who were critical of the plaque and its contents. Porter said the plaque was installed without his approval or knowledge and he has since learned that every major municipal structure has a plaque. “But I was not consulted and I would like to know about it if it has my name on it,” he said. “For future projects, I would like to know of this and where it is going …

See this week’s Canton Citizen for more highlights from the February 5 Board of Selectmen’s meeting. Not a subscriber? Click here to order your subscription today (also available in digital form).

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