Brockton Finance Committee Advances $1.6 Million Trout Brook Design Grant, Approves Lease and Transfers

BROCKTON -- October 6, 2025, Brockton Finance Committee approves $1.6 million MassWorks grant and clears lease and transfer items while debating Aquaria plant purchase trip. The committee voted unanimously to recommend all 12 agenda items favorably to the full City Council at its October 6 meeting, including a $1.6 million MassWorks Infrastructure Program grant to fund road, utility, and park design in the 60-acre Trout Brook urban renewal district, which is slated for up to 1,200 new residential units near the MBTA commuter rail station. CFO Dr. Troy Clarkson disclosed that the city has paid approximately $102 million to desalination operator Aquaria since 2010 under an annual contract currently running at $8.7 million, and defended an August fact-finding trip to Florida, costing the city about $1,700, saying, "spending $9 million and getting nothing versus spending millions less and owning something is a sound financial proposition." Councilor Darren Cork, who filed the resolve prompting the discussion, called the trip "unnecessary" and challenged the exclusion of City Solicitor Megan Bridges, while Councilor Gene Farwell noted that a public records request he filed returned no notes or materials from the visit. DPW Commissioner Patrick Hill closed the meeting with an unscheduled but urgent briefing: Silver Lake is 52 inches below normal in a regional significant drought, an outdoor watering ban takes effect October 8, and running the Aquaria plant at its maximum rate of 3.81 million gallons per day will cost nearly $200,000 per month, funds not currently in the city's budget.