The Braintree planning board has approved a special permit for the Petersen Pool/Rink complex on the high school campus.
BRAINTREE − After nearly 55 years, Capt. August Petersen's last wish is about
to be fulfilled.
At 7:58 p.m. Thursday, the planning board approved a special permit to build the pool
bearing the name of the East Braintree tugboat skipper along with two
regulation-sized ice rinks as part of a sports complex on the
Braintree High School campus. The vote was 4-0.
The vote was applauded by the around 75 people who turned out at town hall for the meeting.
The pool has been the subject of study and debate since Petersen's
death in 1963, through 11 presidencies and a dozen governorships. The
issue has involved both the courts and the state Legislature, and its
location has been moved from East Braintree cross-town to the high
school campus.
The project still needs the approval of the conservation
commission and a parking variance from the appeals board. The conservation commission is scheduled to discuss the matter Thursday night.
"This is a significant step," said Mayor Joseph Sullivan, who pledged to build the pool in his first campaign for the office in 2017. "There's still a lot of work that remains to be done. Our goal is to have a shovel in the ground this summer" to begin construction.
The complex would be completed in the fall of 2019.
The present plan was first proposed in 2011.
The mayor said the complex, which will be built and managed by BSC Partners on land leased from the town would be "a significant and positive benefit to this community.
He said the developer still needs to finalize financing for the $19 million complex.
The mayor said it is also a day to remember Petersen, who left the town $65,000 for the construction of the pool. Over the years, the fund grew to more than $2 million, part of which will help pay for the pool and the rest was used to build the Petersen Splash Pad at Watson Park, which opened five years ago.
"This has not been a simple process," Sullivan said. "I appreciate the work that has been done."
He thanked the planning board members, the town's planning staff and the numerous town officials who have worked on the issue over the years.
The planning board review of the plans has stretched over nearly two years.
Planning board Chairman Robert Harnais said the board members and staff have devoted hundreds of hours to reviewing the project and have not been stalling it.
"The public desire to have a rink and a pool does not negate our responsibilities," Harnais said. "We need to make sure we have a good project."
Board Vice Chair Erin Joyce said the approval contains 109 separate conditions that the project must meet.
At the meeting, Joseph Reynolds, Sullivan's chief of staff, outlined some of the traffic and parking improvements that will be included in the project. They include additional turn lanes on Pond Street and the addition of up to 267 parking spaces on the Braintree High School campus. The complex would share parking with the school under an agreement with the school committee, where the school has full use of the lots for a dozen days each year, including graduation and parent-teacher conference nights.
Scott Lacy, a lawyer representing BSC Partners, said the review of the project by the town's engineering consultant lasted right up to Thursday when there were no more questions to be answered.
In addition to traffic and parking, drainage plans for the complex were one of the final issues to be resolved.