Page 4 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, February 28, 2020 Proposed Town Meeting Article would call on governor to restart the Regional Saugus River Floodgate project By Mark E. Vogler I magine going back 27 years and reviving a federally-funded project that would make it unnecessary for homeowners in East Saugus to buy fl ood insurance? That’s what Precinct 10 Town Meeting Member Peter Manoogian wants to do. He’s initiating a petition to place an article on this year’s Annual Town Meeting to request the Governor of Massachusetts to restart the Regional Saugus River Floodgate Project. “This project, which was determined to adequately and properly comply with the 8 Norwood St. Everett (617) 387-9810 Kitchen Hours: Mon-Thurs: 12-10pm Fri-Sat: 12-11pm Sunday: 1pm-10pm www.eight10barandgrille.com Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act on February 20, 1990 as Executive Office of Environmental Aff airs Project #6497 will protect 5,000 coastal residential and commercial buildings in Saugus, Revere, Lynn and Malden and will also restore portions of East Saugus Marshes,” states the petition that Manoogian is circulating. “To communicate this request, the Saugus Town Meeting wishes for the Moderator to work with the Town Clerk to assure that an offi cial copy of this vote is mailed to Senator Markey, Senator Warren, Representative Moulton, Senator Creighton, Representative Wong and Representative Vincent,” it continued. Manoogian, who was on the Celebrate St. Paddy’s Day! Corned Beef & Cabbage Dinner Served All Day Tues., March 17 Where everyone’s Irish for a Day! Try our $12 LUNCH Menu - 16 ITEMS AUTOTECH 1989 SINCE Get Your Vehicle Winter Ready! OIL CHANGE SPECIAL Up to 5 Quarts of Oil (Most Vehicles) Includes FREE Brake Inspection & Safety Check Only $24.95 DRIVE IT - PUSH IT - TOW IT! CASH FOR YOUR CAR, TRUCK OR SUV! 2009 FORD F-150 CREW CAB 4X4, One Owner, Most Power Options, Only 118K Miles, Just Serviced, 781-321-8841 2011 FORD F-150 CREW CAB Platinum Package, 4X4, Loaded, Every Option, Clean Title, Only 99K Miles, Trades Welcome! Trades Welcome! PRICED RIGHT! AMAZING LOW PRICE! $9,500 $16,500 Easy Financing Available! 1236 Eastern Ave • Malden EddiesAutotech.com We Pay Cash For Your Vehicle! steering committee of a oncepromising project, appealed to the Board of Selectmen at Tuesday night’s citizen input session to make his proposal a priority this year. “The benefi ts are enormous,” Manoogian told selectmen. “The greatest no-brainer since the history of man,” he quipped. The selectmen responded enthusiastically to Manoogian’s proposal. “I would like to put you on the agenda in April,” Board of Selectmen Chair Anthony Cogliano said. “Just hearing about the fl ood insurance alone would excite people in East Saugus,” he said. Manoogian noted that fl ood insurance rates in Saugus average about $800 per $100,000 of property value. Saugus, Malden, Revere and Lynn were in a position to benefi t from the original program approved by Congress back in 1993, according to Manoogian. “This fl oodgate project was proposed by the Army Corps of MAKING HIS PITCH: Precinct 10 Town Meeting Member Peter Manoogian asks selectmen to include his proposal to revive a federally-funded fl oodgate project on their list of top priorities at Tuesday night’s citizen input forum. (Saugus Advocate Photo by Mark E. Vogler) Engineers,” and also approved by Congress at the time, Manoogian recalled. “There was a steering committee. I was on it. The whole Board of Selectmen at that time was for the project. It went through MEPA and received a MEPA certifi cate. But the project was halted with then-Gov. William Weld’s appointment of Trudy Cox as the state’s secretary of environmental aff airs. “She did not want to see any structures out in the river area,” Manoogian said of Cox’s reasons for stopping the project cold. Manoogian estimated the costs of the project in 2019 dollars would be about $250-million, with $160-million of that amount covered by the federal government. The balance of the costs would be shared by the state and the four communities, he said. “The fl oodgate project if constructed would protect 5,000 homes and businesses and facilitate travel of a half a million residents in this area,” Manoogian said. Today’s climate is more favorable for the project because the public has a better understanding of the fl ooding issues confronting coastal communities, according to Manoogian. “At that time, there was no awareness of rising sea level,” he said. “They were projecting the blizzard of ‘78 as a 100-year storm to be the benchmark on what they were working off of,” he said. “Now the blizzard of ‘78 is a 50 year storm and it’s not even close to the type of surges that we are projected to see within the next few decades.”
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