NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Rather than the Hoosic River's concrete-contained waters that flow largely unseen through the city, some residents see places for fishing and swimming, bike and pedestrian paths, and spaces for gathering and belonging. 

 

Those were some of the ideas that came out of a listening session hosted by the Hoosic River Revival last week at the UNO Community Center. 

 

More than 50 people attended the open session Wednesday to hear a presentation, offer some feedback and take a survey of what they would like to see happen. 

 

Local historian Paul Marino recommended that the discussion refer to flood "protection" rather than control, since flooding can't really be controlled. Nancy Bullett said some aspect should be part of the schoolchildren's education. Richard Dassatti thought the feasibility of hydroelectricity from the existing dams be considered, and Joyce Wrend that the next phase of the bike path to the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail be included. 

 

One woman said she's like to see the return of a swimming hole and another spoke to gathering spaces for community and cultural events. 

 

"I think you speak to it in the equity piece that you talked about, where different voices represented and part of the process," she said. "For me, it's more no matter where folks come from, whether they're residents here in North End or Williamstown, folks are part of the river." 

 

The forum was the first of several being planned around the city to solicit input for the feasibility study being conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 

 

Facilitator Nicolas Howe, an HRR board member and professor of environmental studies at Williams College, encouraged those attending to stay involved and keep speaking up about what they wanted out of the river. 

 

"I guarantee you that back in the 1950s, when the Army Corps of Engineers was planning the chutes that we're talking about, they weren't holding many meetings like this," he said. "They weren't all that interested probably in hearing from the citizens of North Adams because they really had one goal and one goal only and that was to build flood defenses, using the science and the technology that they had at the time."

 

The nonprofit River Revival has for more than 15 years been advocating for a more accessible and sustainable river and more modern flood resistance as the 70-year-old chutes have continued to deteriorate.  

 

About two weeks ago, the city of North Adams, in partnership with Hoosic River Revival, signed a letter of agreement with the Army Corps to launch the three-year, $3 million study.

 

"Fortunately, we're at this moment where a huge number of people agree and where all these different government agencies agree and where funding, thanks to a lot of people's really hard work, has come together to study this problem," said Howe. 

 

The organization has already submitted some 61 documents and studies undertaken over the past decade or so. The listening sessions will provide a more local take on not only what citizens would like to see the river become but fill in any information that may be missing. 

 

The study is in the scoping stage over the next few months during which the project team will be collecting a wide range of data from which experts will be able to conduct a number of different analysis and modeling, including economic, environmental and hydrological.

 

"This is a really key period early on, because they're going to be gathering a lot of information from us," said Howe. "The community is also an expert. Local knowledge matters tremendously. 

 

"This is your river. And if we don't all come together and get involved in the planning process, the ultimate plans that we hope will emerge may not fully include the features that we want."

 

He cautioned that restoring the river to some from of naturalization was complex and their would have to be compromises. The one thint that won't comprised, he continued, was flood protection for the city. 

 

HRR's community engagement committee will be the conduit between the community and the Corps. Its three priorities will be equity, inclusion and transparency.

 

That means listening to all voices and making sure all voices are heard, Howe said. "We believe that the public deserves to be fully included in every step of the restoration process and to know how and why and by whom decisions are being made."

 

More sessions are planned and HRR members took some suggestions on how to make them more accessible to different neighborhoods and demographics.