<body><div>When Town Manager John Mangiaratti started his job eight years ago, he took a walking tour of the land at 53 River St. that the Town had bought two years earlier, in 2016, when Town Meeting voters approved the purchase of the land. “I heard, ‘We bought a paving company’s workshop on River St. and, by the way, there’s a dam on it and we think it’s ours now,’” Mangiaratti recalled.There was indeed a dam on the property, crossing Fort Pond Brook, granite and concrete in the center, and earthen on the sides. There were two sluice gates through the dam – a large one for the main flow and a small one for the tailrace. The state told the Town that for safety reasons, the dam had to be reconstructed or breached.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1aClnZ_1Grml0QF00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1aClnZ_1Grml0QF00" width="2000" height="1500" ><figcaption>A view of the new Shoddy Mill Park. The stone wall in the background was part of the original dam. Photo: Franny Osman</figcaption></figure>In his remarks, Select Board Member David Martin said that the conservation director Mike Gendron and then Planning Director Kristen Guichard worked through the complex permitting process to remove the dam. There were more hurdles to overcome. It turns out that when the 1845 Shoddy Mill burned down in 1951, the landscaping company had buried the charred remains, and unfortunately, during the present project, the remains were found to be contaminated with asbestos, lead, and arsenic, which required extensive cleanup. But all those challenges are in the past and last week, on Wednesday, October 28, several dozen people gathered at 53 River St. to cut the ribbon on a new historic Shoddy Mill Park. The mood at the ceremony felt more like a reunion, as giddy residents, contractors, and staff, both present and past, greeted each other.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3lLWku_1Grml0QF00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3lLWku_1Grml0QF00" width="2000" height="1500" ><figcaption>The ribbon cutting included a fraction of the people involved in making the park a reality. Photo: Franny Osman</figcaption></figure>Select Board Member David Martin told the story of the many, many players in the path from industrial land purchase to the park, starting with the 53 River St. Master Plan Committee. The Army Corps of Engineers was required to consider historic resources. The search for artifacts involved the Mass. and Acton Historical Commissions as well as an historic observer who looked for artifacts during the excavation. There were so many collaborators and funders that Martin gave a quiz to the audience. “How many people and organizations did I name?”People guessed. “57?” “48?” “A lot!”“Actually, I don’t know, either,” Martin confessed, to audience laughter. “The point is that many people played important parts. The result is an accessible place to enjoy nature, fish, picnic, or just walk with friends and listen to the babbling of Fort Pond Brook. Welcome to Shoddy Mill Park.”<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4g16jQ_1Grml0QF00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4g16jQ_1Grml0QF00" width="2016" height="1512" ><figcaption>Select Board member and liaison to the 53 River Street project David Martin formally introduces Shoddy Mill Park and outlines the work that went into creating it. Photo: Franny Osman</figcaption></figure>Asked about highs and lows of the project, John Mangiaratti said the high was the level of collaboration. “Slowdowns?” he said, smiling. “The water! It’s not rushing over a dam, it‘s slowly meandering.” That change from a dammed river to a meandering stream is part of the appeal. <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0vA9Fn_1Grml0QF00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0vA9Fn_1Grml0QF00" width="1800" height="1350" ><figcaption>In several places, you can walk right up to the riverbank to fish or just enjoy nature. Photo: Miriam Lezak</figcaption></figure>Sustainability Director Andrea Becerra also inherited the project when she took her job six years ago. Her department helped write grants that funded many of the upgrades. “We really see the value in terms of climate resilience because this used to be a big flood risk for the nearby community.” She said the improvements not only reduced the chance of flooding by adding natural flood mitigation measures, “You’re also adding the park. You are not just adapting to natural hazards but you are also making something better than it was before–by adding the park.”<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4B0a7f_1Grml0QF00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4B0a7f_1Grml0QF00" width="2000" height="1500" ><figcaption>Some of the folks who came out for the ribbon cutting. L – R: Alissa Nicol, Select Board chair; Pam Nourse, Select Board member; Bob Ferrara, Pine Hawk; Kristen Guichard, former planning director; Andrea Becerra, sustainability director; and Em Barrett, outreach specialist and energy advocate. Photo: Franny Osman</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=217q9T_1Grml0QF00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=217q9T_1Grml0QF00" width="1500" height="2000" ><figcaption>The old tailrace is now an accessible stone path that includes a small amphitheater. The entire park is designed to withstand flooding. Photo: Miriam Lezak</figcaption></figure>Neighbors shared memories of the land in past years. Betsy Eldridge remembers bringing her old furniture to Eloise Newell’s Restoration Project housed on the land. The Restoration Project, which has since relocated to West Concord and now Belmont, offers remedial, transitional employment to people with neurological impairment. Kathy Moore said she was disappointed when this place she fondly called “Weedy Park” was cleared. “I liked it because it was a lot of habitat for insects, animals, birds, a lot of food for birds. I was almost devastated when they were taking it all out.” But she has hope. “I think things will grow up, back, like, you turn your back and your lawn is now a forest.”Senator Jamie Eldridge grew up nearby in South Acton. He remembers not being able to get down to the river or appreciate the history of the area. Eldridge was not alone in drawing attention to the access the park allows people to have to a wild riverfront. Simon Cataldo, in his remarks, said he has come to understand “all the complications and some of the objections” to dam removals and ecological restoration. “So many communities around the state are trying to do exactly what has happened here,” Cataldo said, pointing to Warner’s Pond neighborhood in West Concord. “People need to see how beautiful this is and what an incredible job this community has done in creating this, so they can see what it looks like at the end of a project like that, and get over the hump of some of those many many nuanced and well-intentioned objections to this kind of success.”State Representatives Dan Sena and Simon Cataldo gave a citation to Project Executive Paul Darling of S &amp; R Corporation, the general contractor, and to Ian Sheridan of PMA for management of the project. David Martin recognized retired Director of Natural Resources Tom Tidman for his “breakthrough idea” of “echo walls” to mark the location of the historic dam, tailrace, and mill buildings. <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2hfSoX_1Grml0QF00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2hfSoX_1Grml0QF00" width="2016" height="1512" ><figcaption>State Representatives Dan Sena (center) and Simon Cataldo (r) present a citation to S &amp; R Corporation Project Executive Paul Darling for his work managing the project. Photo: Franny Osman</figcaption></figure>Deputy Town Manager Thom Begin said that for now the Cemetery Department will maintain the park, as they do other lands in Acton including part of NARA Park. The Recreation Department will administer permitting. Begin said that, around town, the Recreation Department gets a lot of support from the Public Works, Cemetery, and Highway departments.David Martin said after the event that deputy Town Manager Thom Begin, who also joined the Acton staff more than half way through the project, thinks it’s interesting that we reclaimed this property from its industrial use to be a park, similar to reclaiming shoddy fabric to make new fabric.“I like the fact that …you can walk down to a natural river. Most New England rivers have been industrialized. This one was, of course, but now you can walk right up to it,” said Martin.“It’s also a different kind of park for Acton. There’s no recreation equipment here, you just lay a picnic blanket on the grass or take a walk with friends.”Franny Osman is the editor-in-chief of the Acton Exchange. </div></body>

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When Town Manager John Mangiaratti started his job eight years ago, he took a walking tour of the land at 53 River St. that the Town had bought two years earlier, in 2016, when Town Meeting voters approved the purchase of the land. “I heard, ‘We bought a paving company’s...

Years in the making, Shoddy Mill Park opens

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When Town Manager John Mangiaratti started his job eight years ago, he took a walking tour of the land at 53 River St. that the Town had bought two years e

Years in the making, Shoddy Mill Park opens

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