Newton Council Sends Chapen Road Drain Project Back for Independent Engineering Review

NEWTON — September 2, 2025 — Newton City Council unanimously refers disputed Chapen Road drain project for third-party engineering review. The council voted 22-0 at its September 2 meeting to send docket 56-25, a proposed main drain extension at 16 and 17 Chapen Road, back to the Public Facilities Committee after conflicting engineering reports prompted a call for independent peer review, a suggestion originally made by Councilor Emily Kelly. In a separate 13-10 vote, the council confirmed Travis Salters to the Newton Historical Commission over objections from ten councilors who argued the appointee lacked direct preservation experience; opponents cited an application from Corey Bowen, described as having over 20 years of preservation work including a term as chair of the Wilmington Historic Commission. The council then sat as a committee of the whole to hear GEI Consultants engineer Jim Nickerson recommend option three of three dam repair alternatives for the long-troubled Bulos Pond Dam — an articulated concrete block over-topping protection system requiring removal of roughly 199 trees — though councilors pressed hard for downstream flood mitigation studies before any vote is taken, with Chair Albright scheduling a follow-up Public Facilities Committee meeting for September or October.