Pine Lake still bogged down
Hudson hasn't decided if the dam that broke in 2014 will be restored
Seems the beleaguered town of Hudson can’t catch a break.
In the past year or so, the town has been forced to deal with staffing issues for key administrative positions, financial scandals, and related police investigations and probes by the provincial government. As well, the saga of the Pine Lake dam has yet to be resolved since it broke down in the spring if 2014.
Faced with opposition from residents, the town withdrew a proposed borrowing bylaw last fall that sought funds to redo the dam. Last summer, an engineering firm had presented preliminary studies that recommended the town move forward with reconstruction work that would result in a new concrete dam at a cost of about $515,000.
In February, town council approved four separate resolutions dealing with consulting and surveying work as part of some emergency measures to be carried out around the Pine Lake dam.
However, Mayor Ed Prévost said the town received single bids for only two of the four proposed work projects. The maximum anticipated costs for all four projects combined hovered around $125,000, the mayor said.
“We basically only got two bidders out of four tenders,” he said. “We are acting on that right now. We have to examine them to make sure they are up to scratch,” he added.
One project was a geotechnical study, while another tender was for survey work around the dam. An inspection of the culverts near Cameron Rd. was a chief concern, the mayor said, adding another tender called for the sampling of the cement to find out the resistance level of what’s left of the crippled dam.
As for the two other tenders, which were for the cement samples and the culverts projects, the mayor said the town may place a tender by invitation call, but it hasn’t yet been confirmed.
Council hasn’t made a decision on how to settle the Pine Lake dam dossier, Prévost acknowledged, adding the recent four tender calls were meant as short-term measures.
“Following the results of that (work), we will have more information to then come to grips with what we are finally going to make,” he said.
Meanwhile, resident Cynthia Maher, who lives next to the crippled dam, wonders when the town will finally decide what actions will be pursued for a long-term solution.
“They haven’t decided yet if they are going to put the lake back or not,” she said, noting the lake had been a visual landmark for the town until the dam cracked last year, leaving behind a swampy, pungent bog. “You figure it’s been a year, they’ve had enough time to decide if they are going to put it back or not. Yes, it takes time, but that long, really?
“I have no clue what they are thinking. I wish I knew,” she added.
“The state of the lake represents the state of the town,” she continued, alluding to the ongoing town hall controversies and investigations.