LYNNFIELD — The Pillings Pond Subcommittee voted unanimously to dissolve itself at its meeting Tuesday, instead opting to form a nonprofit to fundraise for the pond.
Antonio Sordillo, who lives along the east side of the pond, said he helped form the subcommittee in 2020 after the town’s Conservation Commission noticed growing support for the pond’s restoration in his Facebook group. Sordillo’s Facebook group, Pillings Pond Lynnfield MA, is a public group and has around 950 members.
The subcommittee served under the Conservation Commission, he said. It had no power to implement any changes in town and existed to give recommendations to the commission and Select Board on issues regarding Pillings Pond.
The goal of the subcommittee was to present concerns to the commission and Select Board to initiate an official study on the pond, including water and sediment tests, Sordillo said.
“I truly think the subcommittee achieved its goal,” he said. “We were successful in raising the money from the town to get the official scientific study done, that gave us a roadmap of next steps.”
Dredging the pond — removing organic waste and sediment from the bottom — is the next recommended step in bringing Pillings Pond back to health and maintaining it, Sordillo said.
Since the subcommittee has served its purpose and did not have any voting or fundraising ability, he said he is working to form the Pillings Pond Foundation, a private nonprofit organization.
The “collective goal” of the foundation will be to “drive the next chapter of the evolution of the health of this pond,” Sordillo said.
The legal paperwork for the foundation will be completed by the end of August, and he said he hopes to hold its first meeting sometime in September. He said his goal is to start applying for grants as soon as the foundation is formed.
“I’m just really excited, because I think the Pillings Pond Subcommittee really identified a lot of the issues, but now we’re at the action phase,” Sordillo said. “We really have to put the money where our mouth is. It’s no longer just about complaints.”
Sordillo encouraged residents to contact him at [email protected] to get involved with the Pillings Pond Foundation.
