Posted on September 11, 2024
The Select Board approved the town administrator as the program’s project manager.
This article has been corrected to accurately reflect Gregg Wellenkamp as an independent consultant.
Stockbridge — Citing inefficiencies from its independent consultant, the Select Board unanimously approved Town Administrator Michael Canales to serve as the project manager for the Stockbridge Bowl’s dredging program during the group’s September 5 meeting.
The 398-acre lake, which boasts a depth of 52 feet, is one of the town’s prized possessions for recreation. However, the waterway has long been plagued by invasive aquatic plant growth, including the Eurasian Milfoil, which creates harmful algae blooms. In conjunction with Ecosystem Consulting Services, GZA GeoEnvironmental Inc.is tasked with employing an intricate management program for Stockbridge Bowl, with dredging the lake and its outlet, or dam, as part of its mission.
In 2019, consultant Gregg Wellenkamp was appointed by the Select Board to serve as project manager. However, Canales said the town wasn’t receiving regular updates from Wellenkamp as agreed upon. “One thing’s become apparent is that we need to reset this position,” he said. “One of the things that hasn’t happened, and we want to make sure is happening is [to] get regular, updated reports back to the Select Board.”
As project manager, Canales will coordinate moving the action forward with GZA and bringing all decision issues and updates to the Select Board, including quarterly project updates, “so that we can keep everyone informed.” He will also work with other town officials to fulfill his new duties.
“To me, this is operational at this point,” Canales said. “We’re relying on our engineering firms to do most of it. Most of it is just coordinating with them and making sure we’re moving ahead and making sure that whenever a decision needs to be made on what direction to take the dredging, that it gets before this board.”
According to Canales, during the last few months, the town was turned down for an inland dredging grant in the amount of $290,000 to assist funding the endeavor. If the grant had come to fruition, he said an additional $100,000 of Community Preservation Committee-appropriated funds would have been tallied to get the project through the next three years, with bidding and construction to begin after that. That preliminary work—until project bidding and construction—is estimated to cost just short of $400,000.
Going forward, Canales said the plan is to use town account monies of $197,000 to get through planning and design to the project’s permitting phase in fiscal year 2026. If the grant is still offered in two years, he said the town can apply for a grant to fund the construction phase, with that grant available for up to $2 million.
“The funding to get us through [fiscal years] 2027 and 2028, in order to get to construction, we’re going to need about another $200,000,” Canales said. “Hopefully, we can get it through the grant. We’ll try. If not, we can approach either CPC, [Small Business Administration], or whoever for additional funding to get us through the remainder of the design element and then get us to the actual construction.”
Canales estimated project construction could start during the summer of 2028. “That would be a goal to try to shoot for if we can get all the permitting and everything else lined up,” he said.
Resident and Stockbridge Bowl Stewardship Commission Member Don Chabon applauded the decision. “I think we need a new direction,” he said. “I think Michael [Canales] is the person to do it. He’s got the resources; he’s got the contacts; and I say, ‘go for it.’”
At the meeting, the Select Board also:
- Heard an update on the Stockbridge Farmers’ Market, with the event to be extended for three additional Wednesday sessions, from 3 to 5:30 p.m., and ending September 25;
- Requested persons interested in an open position on the Cemetery Commission to contact the town office;
- Granted a one-day alcohol license to the Lenox Fire Department for the Josh Billings Triathlon, September 15, at Camp Mahkeenac; and
- Discussed action following the resignation of the town accountant including appointing Aponte & Aponte Municipal Finance Consulting Services to perform some of the duties at a cost of $42,000 while allocating other duties to Canales and the town clerk, to be reevaluated at the end of the year.
