Residents press Coventry council to fund weed treatment; council refers plan to finance committee

Conservation Commission members and lake-association leaders asked the Coventry Town Council to include recurring funding for aquatic invasive-weed treatment, with one presenter proposing a $50,000 line item to be shared among several ponds.

Jerry Narkowitz, speaking for the Conservation Commission, said the commission has discussed using public funds for treatment across the town's water bodies and proposed $50,000 for the fiscal year. "We think $50,000 would be a good number for us to utilize to share among those 4 ponds," Narkowitz said.

Residents and association leaders described last year's funding mix for Johnson's Pond: the town provided $35,000 in public funds and residents raised $53,000 privately, for a total of $88,000 in treatment. Mark Lamoy, president of the Johnson Pond Civic Association, told the council his group hires lake limnologists and produces reports to ensure treatment is effective and not wasted on fragmentation.

Council members and presenters also discussed practical constraints: permit filing deadlines (treatment-permit windows were described as roughly two weeks out from the meeting) and the need to define treatment scope before submitting applications. Concerns were raised that matching town funds to private fundraising could produce unequal results across different ponds.

After discussion, Councilman Donaldson (via motion) proposed sending the weed-treatment funding proposal to the finance committee for further study; the council agreed to refer the matter for committee review so staff and councilors can develop fiscal options and an implementation approach before budget adoption.