HOLYOKE — The state has officially taken over the quarry on Mount Tom, ending a lengthy battle over control of the property and its future.

After closing on a real estate deal Tuesday, the state’s Department of Conservation and Recreation is now the owner of the 16-acre quarry property and a neighboring 22-acre parcel on the former Mount Tom ski area, according to property records. The deal was reached as part of a $900,000 settlement agreement that the agency reached with two companies owned by Holyoke businessmen Matthew Donohue and Timothy Kennedy.

Donohue did not immediately return a voicemail left Wednesday afternoon.

Donohue and Kennedy had plans to fill the quarry with soils from regional construction projects over approximately 20 years, after which they said they’d turn over the property to the state. However, the Department of Conservation and Recreation had the right to acquire the quarry land for public use under a provision included in a 2002 purchase agreement it signed to buy over 144 acres of the company’s former Mount Tom ski area for $1.3 million.

In March 2021, Kennedy and Donohue’s business, Mt. Tom Companies, filed for bankruptcy in an attempt to void the state’s option to the property.

Earlier this month, the parties finally reached a settlement agreement, under which the state paid $900,000 to the businessmen, who in turn gave the state both the quarry property and a neighboring parcel owned by their second company, Site Reclamation LLC.

Under that deal, Mt. Tom Companies agreed to settle its debt obligations, which included $327,263 in back taxes to the city of Holyoke and $93,336 in loans to Site Reclamation. Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia said that the city ended up waving around $75,000 in interest to get the deal done.

In a statement after the settlement agreement was reached, a Department of Conservation and Recreation spokesperson said that closing on the two parcels was “the final step” in a conservation project dating back to the 2002 purchase of 144 acres of the former Mount Tom ski area. The agency said it is exploring further options to restore the quarry area, encouraging the expansion of wetlands and growth of native vegetation.

“DCR also plans to implement some basic safety measures at the quarry, including fencing, signage and other barriers,” the statement reads.

The agency said that it intends to make safe and permanent trail connections between the two properties it acquired, the Whiting Street Reservoir to the south, federal U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service land to the west, Trustees of Reservations land to the east and DRC’s own Mount Tom State Reservation to the north.

“Through careful stewardship and allowing natural processes to occur, the property will continue to recover and flourish,” the agency said. “Additionally, integrating the property into the state reservation will stop the possibility (or threat) of intrusive truck traffic and the associated impacts it brings.”

Dusty Christensen can be reached at dchristensen@gazettenet.com.]]>