Glocester must still sign on; property owners voice cost concerns

By JOSEPH FITZGERALD

BURRILLVILLE — The Town Council spent the better part of two hours Wednesday night trying to ease the concerns of lakefront homeowners who fear that a proposed ordinance to create a dam management district for Pascoag Reservoir-Echo Lake would ultimately mean even more taxes for homeowners who already pay higher property taxes because they live on the water.

Leading the opposition was lakefront homeowner Roger Duquette of Reservoir Road who questioned that section of the ordinance that allows the Pascoag Upper Dam Association, which has for years been the unofficial caretaker of the Pascoag Reservoir Upper Dam, to form a multi-jurisdictional dam management district and assess fees to shorefront property owners with an eventual goal taking control of the lake and dam from its current owner, lawyer and real estate investor Patrick Conley.
Duquette and other residents fear their taxes will increase, especially if expensive repairs need to made to the dam — classified by the state as a high hazard dam – and if salaries and benefits end up being paid in the future to members of the board of directors appointed to administer the district. Duquette said he is also concerned that the ordinance was being voted on by the council with no say whatsoever from homeowners.
“It sounds like a pretty expensive proposition to me,” he told the council. “It’s a lot of fun to spend money when it’s not yours. The red flags in this thing are unbelievable.”
Last year, the state approved enabling legislation to allow the Pascoag Upper Dam Association to form the dam management district. 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 at a tax sale.
About a year ago, Conley approached the town about buying the property, but his offer was declined for reasons including liability issues. It was then that the Pascoag Upper Dam Association approached the Town Council about creating a dam management district.
In October, shortly after a joint workshop with the Glocester Town Council — a portion of Pascoag Reservoir, also known as Echo Lake, is in Glocester — a proposed ordinance was drafted establishing the Pascoag Reservoir-Echo Lake Management District.
But the ordinance has some lakefront homeowners nervous, who say the  dam, which is in need of repairs, could cost tens of thousands of dollars and that the cost could be passed on to them.
“We’re already paying through the nose because we live on the lake,” said Duquette. “All this (ordinance) is doing is adding insult to injury. We will pay more to gain nothing.”
“We don’t need another taxing authority,” said another resident. “We pay town taxes and a fire tax. We don’t need a lake tax.”
Enabling legislation passed earlier this year will keep tax-exempt any property the association eventually acquires, and give it the legal authority to collect fees or taxes. There are approximately 325 parcels that either abut the 385-acre lake, or have access to it directly or by deed.
The purpose of the management district, according to the ordinance, is to “prevent threats to the general public welfare, public safety and public and private property caused by the failure or breach of the Pascoag dam and protect the values associated with the dam through the implementation of dam repairs, maintenance and management by apportioning among and collected from the owners of property within the district the costs of maintaining and repairing the dam and the access of routes to the dam, and to pay the costs of utility services, taxes and the other financial assessments.”
The ordinance further states that the district can “raise and expend funds for the administration, operation, contractual obligation and services of the district, and fix and collect rates, fees and charges within the district to service the dam.”
Town Solicitor Walter Kane, Town Manager Michael C. Wood and members of the council attempted to ease the residents’ concerns Wednesday night, saying the ordinance actually gives residents on the lake the power to draft the management district’s bylaws thus giving them the power to decide the mechanics of the district and how it is administered.
“This ordinance is structured to allow you to decide what you want to do,” Wood explained. “It’s only what you decide to do as a district that determines your obligations. You choose your own path. There is nothing in this document that says you have to spend a single penny you don’t want to spend. It can be as much as you want it to be or as little as you want it to be. It’s what you choose to do as a group.”
Said Wood: “All we’re doing is setting up a structure to help you manage your affairs.”
Pascoag Upper Dam Association President Kevin Menard said the creation of a dam management district would provide property owners on the lake the opportunity to control their own destiny.
“Protecting our property values and protecting our quality of life is what this is all about,” he said.
After two hours of testimony, the council voted to approve the ordinance contingent on a vote of approval by the Glocester Town Council, which is expected to hold a public hearing on the proposal next month.