Shute Brook repair project a success

SAUGUS – February was the wettest month on record and March is following suit, but while that news used to set Shute Brook abutters on edge, it doesn’t carry the same weight anymore.”It was a lot better going to sleep Friday night than it used to be in the past,” said resident Rick Mytkowicz. “The rain wasn’t that bad but we didn’t know that until after the fact.”In the past, Mytkowicz and his neighbors would cringe when they heard a heavy rainstorm was coming because it would surely mean Shute Brook would flood. But thanks to a repair project last summer, residents are sleeping much better.Mytkowicz noted that a true test to the culvert would require a larger storm, but Department of Public Works Superintendent Joseph Attubato said he thought the culvert worked beautifully.”I’ve been down there to see it and it was well worth the effort for the town to get involved with the grant,” he said.Mytkowicz spent nearly a decade fighting to get a little flood mitigation for the neighborhood after it was discovered a culvert near J&M Italian Specialty on Central Street couldn’t handle even a small storm. Mytkowicz said when it would rain a half-inch or more, the water would bottleneck until it spilled its banks into residents’ yards and basements.For years, Mytkowicz hit a brick wall in trying to solve the issue until Town Manager Andrew Bisignani introduced him to a grant writer.After a lot of footwork, credited mainly to Mytkowicz, the town won a grant to rehab the culvert in 2006.The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant carried a 75 percent reimbursement and Town Meeting was ready, appropriating $175,000 in anticipation of receiving the grant.But when delays stalled the project until 2007, prices had escalated and Mytkowicz found himself $238,000 short. Town Meeting approved the additional bonding during the annual 2007 meeting and the project finally got underway last summer.”It started mid-summer and wrapped up before fall,” Attubato said. “There is only a tiny bit of resurfacing left to do.”Attubato said the final roadwork would be done in the spring once the asphalt plants re-open. He also said he was glad the town took advantage of the grant.”With money problems the way they are, I didn’t want to mention dollars or grants but this was money well spent,” he said.And after witnessing the culvert’s performance during the weekend storm, Mytkowicz agreed.”The culvert was going great guns,” he said. “I’m glad we got it built when we did. So far it’s so good.”