Muddy River restoration hits snag

Bridge dispute threatens work

Arlene Mattison of the Brookline Greenspace Alliance is among those expressing fears that a Muddy River restoration project might fall apart if the Carlton Street footbridge isn't repaired. (Globe Staff Photo / George Rizer)

Future flooding on and near the Muddy River may hinge on a span of rusted metal. Or not.

A decade-long donnybrook over the closed Carlton Street footbridge, which both sides thought was resolved, flared up again late last month as Brookline selectmen prepared to sign another agreement for the renewal and restoration of the Muddy River and the surrounding Emerald Necklace parks.

Park enthusiasts and neighbors who want to see the 1894 bridge over the MBTA Green Line tracks near Longwood Station reopened say that if the town reneges on its commitment to repair the bridge, more than $24 million in federal funds and Army Corps of Engineers work to dredge and reopen acres of water and parkland are imperiled.

"If there is no bridge restoration, it could jeopardize the whole project," said Arlene Mattison, president of the Brookline GreenSpace Alliance. "That includes flood control, historic restoration, habitat enhancement, and water quality."

The river has flooded many times, including in 1996, when rainwater surged into Kenmore Station, closing underground portions of the Green Line for months, and basements from the Museum of Fine Arts to Brook Street saw unusually severe water damage. The work proposed by the Army Corps would prevent such flooding in all but the worst storms.

Mike Keegan, project manager for the Corps, told selectmen the details of his agency's work, which is slated to start by this summer if Brookline, Boston, and the state sign off on the new memorandum of understanding. Then the board heard from Selectman Richard Benka, who raised several issues with the document that his colleagues agreed needed to be renegotiated before Brookline would sign.

The most egregious, Benka said, is a clause that commits Brookline and Boston to picking up the tab should one or the other be unable to fulfill its park maintenance commitments.

"It's an unreasonable demand and should come out," he said. "Both for Brookline and for Boston, it's an assumption of liability." And it's particularly unfair to Brookline, he said, because the town otherwise is responsible for only 13 percent of the lawn mowing, bench replacement, and tree pruning.

Town Counsel Jennifer Dopazo said her office would negotiate modifications to make that clause acceptable.

Despite such assurances, and an agreement that legal negotiations are needed, park proponents are worried.

"The more delay, the more likely the Army Corps will move out to another levee," said Hugh Mattison, who has been joined by his wife, Arlene, and many others in working to get the Muddy River work approved.

Benka also wanted the document to reflect a 2003 Town Meeting vote that limited Brookline's spending on the bridge to $90,000 of what then was estimated to be an $800,000 restoration.

This is where the Mattisons and others get even more nervous.

"We've been down this road before," said Hugh Mattison, a Town Meeting member. "I have every reason to be suspicious" that town officials will neglect to reopen the footbridge.

"It's a delicate balance," Mattison said. "Everyone has to sign and put up the money, otherwise it all falls through."

Bridge opponents, such as Colchester Street neighbor Fred Lebow, disagree.

"The Army Corps could care less" if the bridge gets reopened, he said.

But after the meeting, Benka agreed with Mattison that the bridge is part of the town's commitments in several documents leading up to this one. But "all of that is history," he said. "Those are the rules under which we are operating going forward."

Dopazo agreed, saying, "We will follow through and seek third-party funding."

However, the Board of Selectmen cannot increase the amount Town Meeting appropriated for the bridge, according to chairwoman Nancy Daly.

"People are concerned about the huge amount of money it would cost the town to fix the bridge" if it had to pay for the whole thing, she said. "A lot of people are skeptical about what may be a huge investment for access to a park that is not as heavily used by Brookline people as by others."

Lebow agreed, and said many of his neighbors are also against town funds going to reopen the footbridge. Lebow sits on the town's Advisory Committee, which examines expenditures for Town Meeting, and its capital subcommittee.

"As long as I'm there, I'm not going to vote for it," he said. Lebow added that the town faces even tighter budgets than in 2003.

"The town is really stretched," he said. "We won't be kicking in any more money."