I write to thank those who voted to support Article 13, and specifically Item 29, of the 2026 Annual Town Meeting. This article authorizes $587,500, provided by all the taxpayers of Hopkinton, to install a system which will control the phosphorus currently emptying into Lake Whitehall.

This has been an issue of long-standing, and I must credit Kerry Reed, our Department of Public Works Director, and Kim Ciaramicoli, who at the time was our conservation agent, for the research leading to a method to control the phosphorous. They worked hard to scrape together funds from their budgets to do a proof-of-concept study, which led to Article 29 on the ATM warrant.

I am very disappointed to report that the Department of Conservation & Recreation was unwilling to even discuss, never mind assist, in the funding for this project. In my opinion, DCR and its predecessor agency, the Department of Environmental Management, carry some of the responsibility for the weed infestation of the westerly side of Lake Whitehall. They agreed to allow the drainage from a subdivision into the lake in the first place and have turned their backs to Lake Whitehall ever since.

— Ed Harrow, Hopkinton

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