Town River Stewards Committee
Meeting Minutes
October 4, 2004
Location: Bridgewater Public Library
Attendees: Kent Kreutler, Warren Turner, Jim Revil, Gill Solomon and Jim Howell
Previous meeting in September minutes were not necessary as most members could not make it.
Old business: The ongoing old business is getting the clean up of the river at Rt. 18 and Campus Plaza underway. (See Broad Street Bridge Pre-cleanup Inventory.) The hold up is what to do with the identified debris after it is collected. In West Bridgewater the town helped by taking the collected material and we are hoping for the same assistance from Bridgewater. Jim Revil has spoken to Selectman Lemon and now Gill Solomon will speak to him tomorrow night to try to get the ball rolling for our next cleanup.
New Business: We had contacted Cumberland Farms to see if they could help us in keeping the Scotland St. area near the river clean by sealing off the entrance to their land on the west side of the street, north of the Scotland St. Bridge. This has been used as a dump site for appliances , mattresses and other debris. John Bugner, the construction supervisor of the firm was kind enough to meet us and to clean up the debris and then block off the road where the dumping had been going on. We of the committee would like to thank him for his willing and timely help.
Gill wanted to know if there are town sanctioned put-ins on the river in the towns. There is one on Ash St. in W. Bridgewater. Also, at the town park in W. Bridgewater for upstream paddling but this is thwarted by the blockage of the folded culvert tubes at South St. Bridge about 150 yards from the put-in. There are put-ins at the Scotland St. Bridge in W. Bridgewater and at the Forest St. Bridge in W. Bridgewater.
It is part of the mission of the TRS Committee to improve and create access to the river but our first step is to try to clean up obvious debris strewn sites along the river and then debris in the river.
We have tentatively scheduled Oct. 23 as the clean up at Rt. 18 and Campus Plaza.
Next meeting is Monday, November 1 at 7:00 PM in the Bridgewater Public Library.
Submitted by Jim Howell, October 4, 2004.
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