GREENFIELD — The Franklin County Agricultural Society is on its way to raising the money it needs to shore up an embankment at the Franklin County Fairgrounds that threatens homes below after “generous” donations from two local banks, according to the society’s president.
The society recently received $25,000 from Greenfield Savings Bank and $5,000 from Greenfield Cooperative Bank, leaving it to raise $74,000 more to cover the costs of construction and remediation.
“For more than 150 years, the Franklin County Fairgrounds has been part of the social life of our community, promoting local agriculture, hosting exhibitions and events, and later this summer, as the new venue for the 2021 Green River Festival,” Greenfield Savings Bank President and CEO John Howland said. “Greenfield Savings Bank is proud to contribute to the stabilization project to ensure that the fairgrounds continue to thrive for generations to come.”
Greenfield Cooperative Bank President and Chief Operating Officer Tony Worden said it made perfect sense for the bank to donate money toward the project.
“The fairgrounds have been here forever and we want to see it stay forever,” Worden said. “They’ve put a lot of effort to remediate the problem. This is a home run, and we’re very happy to be a part of it.”
Franklin County Agricultural Society President Michael Nelson said the society, which owns and runs the fairgrounds on Wisdom Way, is seeking a permit from the city’s Conservation Commission so it can begin work, hopefully this summer, on a slope at the back of the fairgrounds that has had issues with an embankment collapse and mudslides above Linwood Street.
“We’ve been working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service for a couple of years on plans to mitigate the effects of the mudslide,” Nelson said.
Nelson said the society and Natural Resources Conservation Service are creating plans that would have the least economic impact to the area, which is across a field behind where the Ferris wheel has been located for many years.
Nelson said the society will present its engineering plans at the May 11 Conservation Commission meeting.
“Once we are permitted, we’ll move forward,” he said. “The plan is to install a water relocation system.”
Over the past three years, the increasing underground water has caused four new streams to form beneath the soil of the fairgrounds, and the streams found an outlet within the embankment on the northern side of the property, Nelson explained. The excessive water has caused the soil to destabilize and wash away on multiple occasions, and three homes that are directly below the area are continuously affected by mudslides. At least a dozen trees have fallen.
Nelson said it will cost a total of about $240,000 to do the work — that includes $201,000 for construction. He said trees will need to be replaced and other plants will need to be planted. Western Earthworks, an excavation and landscape construction company based in Florence, has been contracted to do the work.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service is providing a $96,000 grant, and with the total of $30,000 from the two banks and money the society has in savings, it needs to raise $74,000 more.
“We’re looking for monetary or in-kind donations like trees and plants,” Nelson said.
In March 2011, the same land ridge failed about 1,000 feet away at the Green River Cemetery and 3,000 cubic yards of mud slid into the neighborhood below. On Wisdom Way, an area is collapsing on the same ridge. The state Department of Transportation is planning a multimillion dollar project to repair that area.
“We’ll also put in a drain system,” Nelson said. “Once we have those installed, we’ll shore up the areas that need it.
“It’s been a tough year with COVID, and we’ve been fighting to stay afloat, but we’re committed to doing this,” he continued.
Nelson said for those who fear the fairgrounds is not safe, 99.5 percent is “completely safe to be on.” Summer events will occur and the fair will continue as usual, as well as fairs for years to come.
“It’s only one small area on the outer edge that is in trouble,” he said.
To donate to help repair the slope, send a check to Franklin County Agricultural Society/Franklin County Fair, P.O. Box 564, Greenfield, MA 01302. Write “Mudslide Donation” on the memo line.
Reach Anita Fritz at 413-772-9591 or afritz@recorder.com.