Plans for Pembroke herring run improvements still aren’t firm
The Patriot Ledger
Mark Burridge
Editor
Posted Aug. 2, 2014 @ 8:00 am
PEMBROKE – The state Legislature approved funding for improvements to Pembroke’s herring run improvements in April, but exactly what work will be done remains to be decided.
Town officials are in the process of obtaining pricing for several renovation options.
At a public hearing, town officials talked about using the $100,000 in state money to repair a stone bridge, install the replica waterwheel created for the town’s 300th anniversary in its original location near the bridge, and install a fish ladder beside the waterwheel.
Plans to make the herring run more handicapped-accessible were also discussed.
However, Town Administrator Edwin Thorne said none of the project’s elements are official.
Thorne said the hearing was interesting because attendees brought up some new possibilities.
“There were a lot of ideas. Some people even suggested building a pavilion,” Thorne said.
Selectman William Boulter, who has been championing the cause, has ideas for what should happen.
“From the start, I’ve wanted to put the wheel in,” he said.
Hanging the waterwheel to put it on display was suggested, Boulter said, but he thinks the wheel should go in the water.
“The waterwheel belongs in the water,” he said. “It’s a Pembroke tradition. It was in the water there when I was a kid.”
Boulter and Thorne don’t consider a fish ladder necessary, but they believe a ladder would make the herring run safer for the fish.
One idea is to have a trail loop around the site and go over the stone bridge and end back at the parking lot, Boulter said. Creating a few handicapped parking spaces at the top of the site near the bridge has also been proposed.
At this point, these are all just ideas, Boulter said. Plans will be finalized once the engineering firm Weston and Sampson provides cost figures, he said.
He also noted that the plans will need approval from the town’s conservation commission.
“Engineers have been to the site and examined it,” Boulter said. “They surveyed the area and are putting a plan together right now.”
If the price tag ends up being higher than the $100,000 provided by the state, the next step will be to seek additional money from the town’s community preservation committee, he said.
“If we need another $20,000 or $30,000, we can apply,” Boulter said.
Reach Mark Burridge at atmburridge@wickedlocal.com