PHILLIPSTON — Phillipston Selectboard member Nicole Gough meets with her counterparts in Athol Tuesday night to see if they will give her town a bit more time to figure out what, if anything, Phillipston officials and residents would like to do with the Bates Powers Dam. The dam is located entirely within the borders of Phillipston but is owned by the town of Athol.

When Gough appeared before Athol’s Selectboard in September she asked that Phillipston be given “a couple more months just to see if it’s worth it for the town of Phillipston to buy it.” It’s expected that Gough will ask that that her town now be given until the start of the next fiscal year — July 1, 2025 — to make a final decision.

Gough told the Athol board at its meeting on September 24 that Phillipston needed “time to decide if we want to move forward with getting estimates on how much it would cost to repair the dam and what it would entail for Phillipston to buy the dam.” 

The Bates Powers Dam was constructed in 1846 and last rehabilitated in 1923. It is located on Kendall Brook, which feeds into the Millers River. The reservoir behind the dam was intended to provide a source of water for Athol. An action plan developed several years ago by the state Office of Dam Safety rated the possibility of a failure of the dam as “significant.”

The Boston engineering firm of Fuss & O’Neill has estimated the cost of removing the dam at $1.7 million. If Athol maintains ownership, it is likely the town will move to dismantle the structure. The work would likely be funded through the state Dept. of Ecological Restoration.

Phillipston, however, has an interest in taking ownership of the dam and using the reservoir for recreational purposes, as well as a water source for firefighting. 

At the Nov. 12 meeting of the Phillipston Selectboard, board chair Bernie Malouin said residents of the town need to be given a chance to weigh in on the potential purchase of the dam.

“Any decision to purchase property, even if it’s just for a buck, has to go to town meeting for approval,” he said. “It all depends on how much all this will cost.” Because Phillipston’s annual Town Meeting takes place in May, the board instructed Gough to ask that the town be given until July 1 of next year to determine the best way forward. The town will also need time to figure out the cost of assuming ownership.

Finance Committee chair Tom Specht wondered aloud if it would be possible to use Community Preservation Act money to hire an engineering firm to assess the condition of the dam and provide an estimate on the cost of rehabilitation. Any proposal to use CPA funds will need to be submitted to the town’s Community Preservation Committee by Dec. 31.

Athol Selectboard member Rebecca Bialecki, speaking on her own behalf, said, “I think at this point we’re really willing to work with Phillipston so they can figure out what they want to do. So, I would not be opposed to granting them more time because I don’t think it (the dam) is an imminent threat. But I want to hear what they have to say so that we can deliberate.”

Tuesday night’s meeting of the Athol Selectboard gets underway at 7 p.m. in Room 21 at Town Hall.