MILFORD – Town and federal officials have been talking about cleaning up Osgood Pond for years.

Now, the town will decide soon decide whether to go ahead with a $2.9 million Army Corps of Engineers project to restore most of the pond’s eastern half.

For decades, the 26-acre pond has been covered with dense weeds that prevent boating and other recreational uses.

The latest recommendation from Army engineers is to dredge 10-15 acres and pump the sediment to containment facilities at the town-owned Brox property. The dredged material would be used to restore some of the Brox property and Adams Field, a town sports field and park off Osgood Road.

At Brox, the project would essentially return the sediment to its source.

Years ago, there had been extensive sand and gravel quarrying at Brox, which is upstream of the pond. Sediment from the quarrying made its way downstream to the pond, reducing its depth to 2 or 3 feet and making it susceptible to weed growth.

This spring, the Army sampled the top 3 feet of the pond’s sediment. Army Corps project manager Adam Burnett told selectmen on July 26 that the material is organic silt,“similar to potting soil, and it has no objectionable odor.”

He estimated 80,000 cubic yards of organic material could be dredged.

Unlike a plan proposed in 2004, there would be no trucking of the material. Instead, the sediment would be pumped using 8,000 feet of an 8-inch pipeline directly to the Brox property.

Osgood Pond, the town’s largest body of water, was once so deep and clear that it was used for recreation.

Local officials have talked about removing the sediment for decades, and in 2000, the town asked the Army Corps to do a feasibility study. Four years later, engineers came up with a plan to dredge about 15 acres and truck the material to the Brox property.

Government funds were never allocated, however.

Last January, government engineers were back with a plan for dredging and trucking the material, but selectmen asked them to examine alternative methods and give them cost estimates.

The town would be responsible for 35 percent of the cost, which would come from $105,000 it has in capital reserve funds earmarked for Osgood, as well as in-kind work from the Department of Public Works, including the construction of a dewatering facility at Brox and preparation of Adams Field.

The federal funds would be guaranteed once the town and the Army Corps sign a partnership agreement, Burnett told selectmen.

The balance of the town’s contribution of $1.006 million would come from the appraised value of town land used for the project – the Brox land would be set aside for the permanent conservation easement, as well as temporary uses of Adams Field and Brox during project implementation, said Community Development Director Bill Parker.

That means no additional money would come from taxpayers.

But the selectmen were concerned that if bids come in high and the size of the project has to shrink, it might not be worth the town’s money.

At the July 26 meeting, Bill Fitzpatrick, of the town Budget Committee, said he’s worried that taxpayers would ultimately feel the effects because of an increase in the DPW’s budget.

DPW Director Bill Ruoff said that’s a valid concern, but that Osgood Pond would become “our project for the year,” and he said that the town already owns most of the material and equipment that would be used.

Parker told selectmen the dredged material would help the town build recreation fields at Brox, “a huge, huge, step forward.”

The town bought the 270-acre Brox land 10 years ago, hoping to sell a portion to industrial and commercial buyers and keep the rest for recreation, cemetery and other town uses.

“People need to not just measure the cost, but the entire value” of the project, Town Administrator Guy Scaife said.

Under the new plan, dredging wouldn’t begin until at least 2012.

Kathy Cleveland can be reached at 673-3100, ext. 21, or kcleveland@cabinet.com.