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Acton Pulls Out of Dam Planning

February 27, 2011 - Acton – The town of Acton has pulled out of negotiations regarding the management of the Emery Mills and Square Pond dams, which help create Mousam Lake.


The other towns involved in the discussions are Sanford and Shapleigh.


Sanford owns the two dams and for the past 100 years or so the sole cost for maintaining them has fallen on Sanford. That’s why it originally approached the other two towns more than a year ago about sharing the upkeep costs, as well as any necessary capital spending in the future.


Mark Green, Sanford’s town manager, said the original plan called for Sanford, Acton and Shapleigh to split the cost of dam maintenance. Now that Acton has pulled out, he said, Sanford has agreed to pay 67 percent of the costs going forward, if Shapleigh will pick up the other 33 percent.


After many months of talks, the Acton Board of Selectmen sent an e-mail to Green Feb. 3 saying it would no longer be participating in the discussion regarding the future of the dams.


“We are not pleased with the way the negotiations have been trending and feel that this proposal is no longer in the best interest of the citizens of Acton,” the e-mail said.


Despite several attempts, Larissa Crockett, chairwoman of the Acton Board of Selectmen, could not be reached for comment before deadline regarding the specific reasons the town pulled out of the dam negotiations.


Green is disappointed that Acton has decided not to continue the discussion regarding sharing the costs and decision-making process surrounding the two dams, but said this week he hopes Acton may come back to the table in the future.


Last summer, Marcel Blouin, head of Sanford’s Parks and Recreation and Public Lands Department, which oversees the dams, said it’s only fair for Acton and Shapleigh to pick up some of the costs to maintain the dams, since Mousam Lake is so importantly economically to the two towns.


At the time, Larissa Crockett, one of the three members of the Acton Board of Selectmen, agreed.


“The dams are definitely important to Acton because they allow us to have lakefront property, which represents 75 percent of our tax base,” Crockett said. “But it’s been a concern of lakefront owners that they have no say in the management of the dams. I think they’re looking for more of a voice.”


On Monday, Green said, “I think the perception has been that Sanford doesn’t take into consideration the concerns of residents regarding lake levels. I don’t think that’s true, but the idea behind the agreement was to give all three towns an official voice.”


He said that Shapleigh could also pull out of the talks, but so far selectmen there seem willing to take on some responsibility for the dams and the costs associated with their upkeep.


“I think the selectmen in Shapleigh recognize that Sanford’s been a good neighbor on this and it’s time for them to step up,” Green added.


He said that’s particularly true because Sanford gets no direct benefit from the dams.


The Emery Mills and Square Pond dams do allow the town to regulate flows in the Mousam River, which runs through downtown, but Green said this week that Sanford has only manipulated the dams once in the past 20 years in order to control the level of the river.


The annual cost of maintaining the two dams is about $10,000, Green said. He said the dams have been inspected by the state and they are currently in sound condition, but may need significant upgrades in the near future, although no dollar figures have been attached to those upgrades.


The $10,000 Sanford spends on the dams annually covers the stipend for the gatekeepers, the required yearly inspection and the removal of brush and other debris, which can impede the flow of water over the dams, according to Blouin.
Initially, Sanford offered Acton and Shapleigh a 99-year lease of the dams and the creation of a new management committee, which would include representatives from all three towns. But, Green said, the other two towns “weren’t too excited” about taking over any ownership interest in the dams.


He is hoping Shapleigh’s town attorney will approve the draft agreement, which outlines the cost sharing and dam maintenance proposal currently on the table between Sanford and Shapleigh, in time for Shapleigh’s town meeting on March 12.


If the voters in Shapleigh reject the plan, Green said, Sanford would be back where it started.


Kate Irish Collins, Weekly Observer, February 2011


Lakes: Square Pond
Regions: Sanford


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