Funding for ailing Toy Town dam allocated

Town manager looks toward possible hydro power

By Owen Boss

WINCHENDON — Gov. Deval Patrick signed an environmental bond bill into law, which earmarked $1.5 million for the repair of the town’s Whitney Pond Dam, a project that could provide alternative energy options to Toy Town. According to Town Manager James Kreidler, repairing the dam was a priority before the collapse of several steel beams during a spring storm in 2007. “We were working on this before it gave way because we knew it was corroded and could be a problem,” said Mr. Kreidler. “We had a big spring well and the deteriorated section gave way sending 8 feet of stop logs downstream.” In a visit to Winchendon in 2007, Sen. Stephen Brewer, D-Barre, toured the dam, and said he knew that funding repairs were crucial because the deteriorated structure was a significant public safety hazard. “I went out and toured it when it was a high water day and it was a fairly sobering experience,” said Mr. Brewer. “There were a lot of torrents of water that came flying over the top. The governor has the environmental bond and we knew there would be money for dam safety and what we are saying is ‘here we are, we need it, it is important.’” Mr. Brewer said he had pushed for the funding as the environmental bond bill made its way to the governor’s desk, and had labeled it as a regional priority. “This went through the Long-Term Debt Committee, and then it went through Senate Ways and Means, and I recommended it through the conference committee,” said Mr. Brewer. “This is about Bob Rice and I doing our due diligence for our communities.” Although the funding has now been allocated, Mr. Brewer stressed that the money would not be available to the town immediately, and this is simply the first step in the process. The funding for dam renovations could give the town the opportunity to further an initiative to use the dam to generate hydro power, according to Mr. Kreidler. “The town owns the hydro-works adjacent to the structure,” said Mr. Kreidler. “That is something we are looking to develop.” Mr. Kreidler has been advocating for hydro power for more than a year and has said it would greatly benefit the town because it is a reliable, renewable green energy source that would have very little environmental impact. oboss@thegardnernews.com

Appeared on Page 1 on 8/15/2008 (Vol. 206 No. 193)