BOS funds survey of town waterways
Stafford’s Milfoil Advisory Committee has been busy. Made of up residents from ponds and lakes across town, they delivered their findings and recommendations at a special Board of Selectmen (BOS) in September. The BOS, however, wanted the commission to get a few more answers before they took action. So, the committee was back at the October meeting with new numbers and a revised scope.
Originally, Milfoil Advisory Committee Chair Michael Rhodes estimated it would cost roughly $10,000 to survey all the bodies of water on its list, but after refining that scope the estimate came down to $6,100 to survey 11 bodies of water.
Originally, the list of waterbodies included Staffordville Lake and Crystal Lake. However, given Staffordville Lake’s new tax district—designed specifically to deal with water quality issues—and the fact that so little of Crystal Lake is actually in Stafford, the BOS questioned the need to address them with this survey.
At the follow-up meeting, Rhodes said the committee still wants to include Staffordville because the tax district won’t be active until well after this survey is complete. Some ponds on the list, while technically privately owned, are open to the public and were therefore included on the list. Some are also considered feeder ponds, meaning if they have a problem it quickly becomes a problem for other bodies of water.
The survey will give the committee a better understanding of the scale of the problem, and allow them to apply for grants to fund remediation projects. He said treatment could cost between $100,000 and $300,000. Rhodes repeatedly said that funding from the Town would allow his committee to move faster and get to a solution more quickly.
Selectman Anthony Armelin called it “an expensive gamble” to pay for the survey hoping it will lead to grant funding, but said Stafford definitely will not get the grants if they do not do the surveys. He also called Stafford’s lakes and ponds a “treasure.”
Selectman Tim Cromwell told Rhodes that if the committee was to come back for more money it would be a “bigger discussion.”
The selectmen ultimately approved the funding allowing the Milfoil Committee to lock in pricing for a spring survey of the waterways.
