Pond step right one to take
SOME MEMBERS OF THE
City Council seem to be in a great hurry to spend money with an eye toward possibly selling off city assets, but are reluctant to spend even a few thousand dollars to find out how a city asset can be saved.
The City Council voted to spend up to $5,000 toward a study of possibly dredging the Mill Pond on the Mullet River in downtown Plymouth last week.
It was the right thing to do — even if it took a tie-breaking vote from Mayor Donald Pohlman to do it.
The request came from the Mill Pond Study Committee, which is looking to determine if there is any possible contamination in the sediment clogging the pond that could prove to be an impediment to cleaning out the downtown landmark.
The long-term goal is to remove the sediment in an effort to combat the weeds and algae that are becoming an ugly nuisance in the shallow, slow-moving pond water.
A study several years ago by Earth Tech estimated the cost of dredging the Mill Pond at $3.5 million to $5.2 million. Study committee representatives contested some of the assumptions that estimate was based on, but still conceded that the cost of dredging the pond would be in the millions of dollars.
But they also said it would be their intention to pursue other funding options if dredging proves to be the best option that could greatly reduce the cost to the city, including offering the sediment as clean fill free for the hauling, if it is determined that the sediment is uncontaminated.
And that was all the committee was asking the council to do last Tuesday, to agree to file the application for the study and provide funding for it to match private donations solicited by the committee.
It is a donation of up to $5,000 and not necessarily that full amount. The initial cost of the application to the city is expected to be no more than $1,000, and the council will still have to approve any further expenditure by the Mill Pond Study Committee before they can go forward — and before any more city money is spent.
The council was not being asked to commit to millions of dollars — or even hundreds of thousands of dollars — for major cleanup efforts at the Mill Pond. That bridge is still far down the road and there is plenty of time before it will have to be crossed.
In the meantime, the council was just being asked to take one small first step toward saving what is one of the landmarks that makes downtown Plymouth so unique and attractive. It was a step they should have taken firmly and decisively, instead of being dragged reluctantly into it.
At issue: Something or other Bottom line: Do something about it
