Selectmen voted on the contract for the work to be done on the Alder River Dam.
GREENWOOD – Saying its concept of dam repair was more down to earth than others, selectmen chose a Newry firm on Tuesday to do the engineering work on the Alder River Dam.
“In our proposal we asked how firms would fix the dam and what their engineering fees would be,” Town Manager Carol Whitman said. “We had four proposals and Jim Sysko’s seemed to suit our needs the best, without going to extremes.
“He didn’t overkill,” Whitman said. “For instance, one of the engineers suggested that we move the dam altogether. Jim’s (plan) was practical and down to earth.”
He also was the lowest bidder, having an estimated cost of $10,000.
Sysko is an engineer of Small Hydro East.
The earthen berms on each side of the dam are weakened and need to be raised.
Prior evaluations of the structure show that the berms have settled over the years. The west side berm is about 2 feet lower than it should be and the east side berm has to be raised about a foot.
There are also holes in the cement around the sluice gate, which is 20 to 30 years old.
Sysko’s plan calls for burying two concrete walls on both berms. The walls would be 2-inches wide and 12-feet deep. He also calls for installing a larger sluice gate and riprap down stream to add stability to the area.
Whitman said once the town gets his specifications the project will go out to bid.
Sysko will be at the town office at 4 p.m. Tuesday for an informational meeting with selectmen.
“It looks like we have a good shot at doing this next year,” Whitman said. “We’re hoping to get construction bids back by next month, or maybe January. We’ve asked Woodstock to help financially, but haven’t had a response yet.”
The majority of North Pond is in Woodstock. A breech of the dam and loss of water would impact the value of the waterfront property there and the taxes the properties provide to Woodstock.
Three ponds, Round Pond, South Pond and North Pond are connected. The dam holds back water in Round Pond, which is fed by South then North Pond.
“We think Woodstock has some financial responsibility,” Whitman said.
The town had a coffer dam built and then tested on Oct. 11. The coffer dam will hold back the water so the berms and sluice gate can be repaired.
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