PHILLIPSTON – At its meeting on Wednesday, May 28, Phillipston’s Selectboard reaffirmed a vote taken in October 2024 to disavow any interest in a previous offer from the Town of Athol to purchase the Bates Powers Dam for $1.

Phillipston officials had requested Athol’s Selectboard hold off on any decision regarding the dam’s future until Phillipston had a chance to examine options for acquiring it and the adjoining 32.5-acre reservoir, which is fed by Kendall Brook. Supporters of acquiring the dam felt the property could be used for recreational purposes, and as source of water for firefighting.

According to Athol officials, the dam was constructed in the mid-1870s by the Athol Water Authority, and last rehabilitated in 1923. The dam’s risk of failure was rated “significant” in a 2018 study done by the state Office of Dam Safety.

Earlier this year, Phillipston’s Community Preservation Community denied a request from the Selectboard for between $250,000 and $750,000 to purchase the property. While some members of the committee questioned the feasibility of the expenditure, others doubted Town Meeting voters – which decides on CPC spending – would support the proposal.

“At that meeting,” Selectboard Vice Chair Gerhard Fandreyer said Wednesday, “it appeared there was plenty of resistance from the community for saving the Bates Powers Dam. So, I don’t think the community is in favor of it.”

Board member Nicole Gough, who had pursed potential funding sources for the purchase, said, “I reached out to our state representative to see if there was any kind of grant funding. I went to the Department of Wildlife and never heard back from them. I’ve looked at every option I could think of and no one on the state level thinks there’s money for it.”

Gough said she would continue to look for ways to acquire the dam, but in the meantime, Athol Town Manager Shaun Suhoski told the Athol Daily News that officials there would do what they feel is best for the town.

“I don’t blame them for not wanting to accept the dam,” said Suhoski. “Right now, it’s a liability and its not benefiting either community as a whole. We’ll continue on at a staff level; we’ve been doing the routine inspections that we need to do, and we’ve done some brush clearing up there. We had an initial study done by Fuss & O’Neill engineers to look at options for decommissioning the dam and we’re going to proceed down that path.”

The study undertaken by Fuss & O’Neill estimated the cost of decommissioning at around $1.7 million. Because one of the priorities for the state is the restoration of waterways and fisheries, any deconstruction of the dam would likely be funded through the state Department of Ecological Restoration, according to an earlier statement from Athol Assistant Public Works Director Paul Raskevitz.

Suhoski said once he receives official notice from Phillipston Chief Administrative Officer Adam Lamontagne that the Selectboard opted not to purchase the dam “then we’ll see if the Athol board wants me to try to sell the property and do an RFP, even as we’re proceeding with plans to decommission the site.”

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.