Head Tide Dam project continues being explored

Fri, 07/29/2016 - 8:30am

    An Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF) official said July 28, he is hoping for a meeting of the Head Tide Dam Committee in the latter part of August. The meeting would be to hear a new presentation from Inter-Fluve, the engineering firm helping the ASF and the committee explore options for one of the dam’s abutments, ASF Vice President of U.S. Programs Andy Goode said.

    It will be the first meeting of the full committee since shortly after selectmen empaneled it earlier this year, Goode said. The committee replaced a larger one that worked with Goode for a year.

    “It’s been kind of quiet, but there’s been a lot of behind-the-scenes work going on,” to develop some iterations for the committee to review, he said. Goode said the planning is in line with the concepts he shared with selectmen prior to the new committee’s creation. Those focused on replacing the abutment nearest the parking area on Head Tide Road.

    The August meeting will help move the work closer to having something to show selectmen, hopefully before the end of fall, Goode said. It’s too soon to know whether any proposal would be offered to March 2017 town meeting voters, he said.

    In another development, Kleinschmidt Associates in Pittsfield has been brought on board to help with the Alna work, in a secondary role to Inter-Fluve, the lead firm, Goode said.

    Meanwhile, the ASF continues its work in neighboring Whitefield ahead of the removal of Coopers Mills Dam. Goode said a federal grant has just been secured and all the legal agreements with the town have been signed.