Voters restore $55,000 for Snow's Brook sedimentation-control project to protect Corcoran Pond

Voters at the Waterville Valley town meeting approved Article 13, restoring $55,000 from general taxation to complete a sedimentation-control project on Snows Brook above Corcoran Pond.

Paul Ricotta, chair of the Conservation Commission, told the meeting the project — initially approved at the 2022 town meeting — uses bioengineering to capture sediment upstream, reconnect floodplain function and improve fish habitat and water quality. He said permitting is complete, partners including the U.S. Forest Service, the Army Corps of Engineers and New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services are engaged, and remaining work could begin this fall.

Bill Dower, a consultant and retired U.S. Forest Service employee assisting the town, recommended approval, warning that without such upstream work Corcoran Pond risks accumulating sediment and would need frequent dredging. Residents asked whether previously approved funds had lapsed into the general fund; staff confirmed the approved funds lapsed to fund balance and need reappropriation for this specific purpose.

After public questions about sources of sediment and project scope, the article was put to a vote and passed by raise-of-card vote.

Planning and permitting work already funded and the consultant contract (Rick Van de Poele cited in the presentation) mean construction readiness is cited as the rationale for restoring the lapsed appropriation.