Posted on September 16, 2024
STOCKBRIDGE — Whatever happened to the long-awaited dredging project aimed at improving the Stockbridge Bowl’s ecosystem and reducing invasive weeds?
The Select Board has voted unanimously to hand it off to Town Administrator Michael Canales.
In a recent update for the Select Board, Canales emphasized the need to “reset” the position of project manager in order to provide a timely flow of information to the board.
Canales suggested that he take management of the lake cleanup, since he supervises bridge projects and others such as the Children’s Chime Tower renovation. He would coordinate with GZA GeoEnvironmental, which handles planning for the dredging, to provide regular updates on the progress of the project.
“We’re relying on our engineering firm to do most of it at this point,” Canales pointed out at the Sept. 5 meeting televised by Community Television for the Southern Berkshires.
Any decisions on the direction of the dredging plan need to come before the Select Board, he said.
Canales noted that a $290,000 state grant application for bidding for the dredging project and other support had not been accepted, but he would reapply whenever the grant becomes available. The town already has $100,000 in Community Preservation funding, in addition to $97,000 in other town accounts for planning and design.
Project costs are estimated at about $2 million, Canales said. He suggested that work beginning in the summer of 2028 would be a goal.
The private Stockbridge Bowl Association, representing homeowners and stakeholders, has $1.5 million in reserves for the pending weed-removal project, which has been in various stages of planning for close to a decade.
Former Selectman Don Chabon, a lakeshore resident and member of the Stockbridge Bowl Stewardship Commission, said that “we need a new direction, and Michael’s the person to do it. He’s got the resources and contacts, and I say, go for it.”
Select Board Chairman Chuck Cardillo acknowledged that the cleanup “has been lingering, and we’ve got to get this moving.”
Eurasian milfoil, an invasive species, is prolific in the Stockbridge Bowl. A long-awaited dredging project with an estimated cost of $2 million or more is now slated for pre-construction engineering and design leading up to work beginning in summer 2028.
The board voted 3-0 to turn over management of the project to Canales, who thanked Gregg Wellencamp of Well-Kamp Enterprises in Great Barrington for his five years keeping tabs on the proposed lake cleanup.
Meanwhile, to control milfoil growth, the town has deployed its weed-whacking mechanical harvester this summer as a short-term solution.
A weed harvester owned by the town of Stockbridge, attacks invasive Eurasian watermilfoil as an interim measure until a Stockbridge Bowl dredging project gets underway, now expected in summer 2028 following pre-construction engineering and design.
The 372-acre Great Pond, owned by the state but managed by the town, attracts boaters, swimmers and anglers in the tens of thousands each season. There are more than 400 lakeshore homes, a public beach and private beaches owned by Camp Mah-Kee-Nac, Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health and the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s summer home at Tanglewood.
The annual Josh Billings RunAground triathlon to be held this Sunday includes a watercraft competition on the lake.
