By JOSEPH FITZGERALD

BURRILLVILLE — The Glocester Town Council Thursday approved the Burrillville Town Council's request to draft a resolution to the state Legislature requesting enabling legislation that will help pave the way for the creation of a dam management district for Pascoag Reservoir.

The Burrillville council had met twice to vote on a similar resolution, but each time was unable to unite one of its members — Councilman Kevin Blais — to support it. As a result, Burrillville officials asked the Glocester council to take the lead and submit the resolution. A portion of Pascoag Reservior, also known as Echo Lake, is located in Glocester and town leaders there have voiced support for the dam management district.
Glocester Town Council President Steve A. Sette said Friday that his council unanimously voted to support the draft resolution and will send it back to the Burrillville council for its vote of support before Glocester takes the next step and sends a formal resolution to Legsislature.
The enabling legislation is needed to allow the Pascoag Upper Dam Association, which has been the unofficial caretaker of the Pascoag Reservioir Upper Dam for years, to form a dam management district and assess fees to shorefront property owners with an eventual goal of buying the lake (or land under the lake) from its current owner, lawyer and real estate investor Patrick Conley. The land under the lake was once owned by Vincent Mesolella, who tangled with the state over ownership issues several years ago before he let it go in a tax sale. About a year ago, Conley approached the town to see if it wanted to buy the property, but the town declined the offer for various reasons, inlcuding liability issues. It was then that the Pascoag Upper Dam Association approached the town about the creation of a dam management district.
A majority of the Burrillville council supports the idea because the association would own, monitor and maintain the Pascoag Dam, which is considered a high-hazard dam. But it needs the enabling legislation to keep tax-exempt any property the association eventually aquires and give it the ability to enforce the fees that they levy.
When the resolution came before the council for a vote on Feb. 12, council members Nancy Binns, John Karmozyn and Norman Mainville voted in favor, while Blais cast the dissenting vote, saying he had concerns about the proposal relative to taxation and other issues. Councilman Wallace Lees had to abstain because he lives on the lake, and Councilwomen Margaret "Peggy" Dudley and Cynthia Roe were not at the meeting. Because the motion to approve the resolution required four votes, the motion was defeated.
A few weeks ago, the Pascoag Upper Dam Association requested that the resolution be re-introduced for a vote at the council's meeting earlier this month, but it didn't fare any better. Lees and Roe were not at the meeting leaving it up to Binns, Karmozyn, Mainville, Dudley and Blais to work it out. Because it was Blais who cast the dissenting vote at the last meeting, it was up to him - according to Robert's Rules of Order - to decide whether or not to re-introduce the measure. When Binns asked him whether or not he had changed his position since the last meeting, Blais responded that he would be abstaining from any and all discussion on the resolution, which effectively killed any possibility of the council voting on the resolution that night.
It was Town Councilwoman Margaret "Peggy" Dudley who suggested asking the Glocester Town Council to introduce the resolution to the Legislature - that way the draft of the resolution would be sent back to Burrillville by the Glocestyer council for a vote of support before the measure is filed with the state by Glocester.
Securing the enabling legislation is the first step and the town would have to approve an ordinance which will be subject to public debate and input before it is voted on.