Island Neighborhood Association of Waltham
Executive Board Meeting Minutes
April 21, 1999
The meeting began at 7:05 p.m. Committee and Board member Reports were tabled until the next meeting, to allow time for our two guests, Ron Vokey and Attila Klein, to present to the board.
Correspondence: Received: none. Sent: Stephen sent letters to both Councilor Tom Stanley and Al Careal (of the Waltham Postal Annex) thanking them for their involvement in having the mail box on the corner of Woerd and Crescent Ave.'s removed for safety reasons. Additionally, a streetlight is slated to be installed at that corner. Stephen also sent a letter to Mayor Cohen regarding the rubbish that has been being dumped on city property next to the former incinerator site on Rumford Ave. This resulted in the rubbish being removed, and the mayor ordering the building department to erect a fence along the property line.
Mr. Ron Vokey, the Planning Director of the City of Waltham, was our first guest. He spoke to the board about the future of the former Woerd Ave. landfill. Mr. Vokey stated that the city is in the final stages of working with the engineering firm of Camp, Dresser and McKee (CDM) who have been conducting an environmental survey of the property for contaminants. Mr, Vokey believes that a "standard capping" of the landfill will likely be the final result, topped with a membrane and then earth, although no specifications are yet established. There is no deadline for the completion of this project, since it was voluntarily undertaken by the city, and is not under a mandate by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). He believes it could take as many as five years to complete, and the city is approximately two years into the project.
The city is currently seeking a federal grant for this project. Estimated cost is between one and two million dollars for the cleanup of the 8 acre site. A request for a copy of CDM's report to the DEP can be made to the City of Waltham's Law Department. Mr. Vokey does not foresee any land-use restrictions for the landfill once capped, except that it will be for recreational use only, and will not have any structures placed there. It will not be used as a landfill again.
Mr. Vokey also spoke about the playground on Moody Street that is adjacent to the landfill. A landscape architect has been selected to redesign it. The city is looking at reorienting the ball field, installing new playground equipment, and possibly adding a skateboard park. He will contact the INA when the plans are complete. Conceivably, the skateboard park could be completed by this fall, if located on the playground and not the landfill. Members raised concerns over the city's proposal to build a skateboard park (approximately the size of a basketball court) on the landfill. The city's first commitment is to the softball diamond. The issue was raised over the skateboard park being located on the border between two towns, and how to deal with problems that arise that may not involve Waltham.
Other concerns raised by the Association include lack of parking and lack of a place to safely drop off people wanting to use the playground facilities. Suggestions of street access from Rumford Ave. or Cove St. to the park/playground were made. No plans are currently being made for either of these streets to be access points. Mr. Vokey is open to the possibility of having a walkway made along Cram's Cove when the capping occurs, depending upon the topography of the area. He would not be able to "cut into" the landfill to do this.
Security concerns were also raised. He stated that the playground is, and will continue to be patrolled by the police bicycle patrol, and that the landfill will become part of their patrol. He also recommended that an increased activity level around the area would increase the safety of those using it, decrease the presence of the homeless, and deter youngsters from hanging out there.
The Association raised the issue that the investigators of the contamination of both the Parker-Hannifin and Pantos properties are pointing their fingers at the landfill as the source of their contamination. Mr. Vokey responded by saying the city is doing likewise and, unlike either of the other property owners, the city is being aggressive in trying to solve it's contamination problem, and is doing so voluntarily, within state guidelines. Either of the other two properties are at risk of having the DEP forcing them into doing a cleanup, regardless of cost, and within a specific time line.
Lastly, Mr. Vokey informed us that Leary Field on Bacon St. is being expanded and will not be available for use until 2000, which is all the more reason to concentrate on, and improve the Moody St. playground now.
We thanked Mr. Vokey for his informative presentation to the board.
Attila Klein, Professor of Biology at Brandeis University, was our second guest. His presentation focused on contaminants in both Cram's and Purgatory Coves, as well as the water chestnuts in the river. Prof. Klein began by stating he had first become interested in the river several years ago as a result of attending presentations of a Design Charette project, wherein designers developed plans for a project to address issues of the flowed meadows area. Subsequently, he developed a comprehensive report on the state of the coves, and a summary of the results were presented to the board.
There were no metals, PCB's, or insecticides present in Purgatory Cove. It was very congested with vegetation; soon (5-10 years) it will no longer be a cove due to the plant life filling it. It is "super saturated" with oxygen. He found that 92% of the surface was covered with floating plants, leaving only 8% of open water.
In Cram's Cove he found high levels of iron, lead, mercury and arsenic, as well as PCB's and insecticides at levels that were a concern. Other contaminants found included: silver, cadmium, chromium, copper, tin, selenium, zinc, and petroleum oil. These results are from core samples taken from the far end of the cove, near the landfill. The test results were done at a state lab. When he questioned the ramifications of these contaminants he was told that the results were "typical of an urban river". It can not be "cleaned up" because then the contaminants would become toxic waste that would have to be disposed of properly. No water chestnuts were found in Cram's Cove. The cove is nearly devoid of oxygen.
Prof. Klein then went on to describe to us what he has learned about water chestnuts. They are designed to live in three environments: water, air and sediment. They drop their seeds in late August, early September. The plants are larger and more dense in some parts of the river than others (he does not know why). They grow along the edges of the river, towards the center, in areas that were probably the original river (pre-dam) flood plain. Lastly, beetles that he observed to be feeding on the plants, and might have offered a way of controlling their growth, turned out to have little effect. The plants cauterized themselves from the beetles bites. On an anecdotal note, he told us that people cultivate water chestnuts in India for eating. This summer he will study the seeds to determine how long they remain viable, as well as measure the seed load in the riverbed.
When asked for his opinions of how best to improve the coves, Prof. Klein gave the following advice. Regarding Cram's Cove: Since it is so scenic, it would be nice to clean it up somewhat. Because of it's location, it would remain as a wetland. It is only 18 inches deep, so it would not take a lot to fill it with sand, possibly helping it become a wetland. Because of the lack of oxygen, and therefore plant life, it would take up to 15 years to fill itself naturally. He also believes that having a walkway along the cove would highlight it. Ice skating on the cove would not be dangerous because the contaminants are in the sediment. The water is not polluted, only the sediment. There is very little exchange between the sediment and the water. There is therefore little or no danger of metals polluting the water. The oil leaching into the water is aesthetically unappealing, but there is little that can be done about that. In order to truly find out what is in the sediment, in what concentrations, and where, he suggests taking nine core samples across three different sections of the cove. A complete clean-up of the cove requiring dredging would be prohibitively expensive.
Regarding Purgatory Cove: Prof. Klein suggested the idea of filling up part of the cove (the shallower part) and save the rest of it by deepening it. The slurry from the deeper parts could be pumped to the shallower parts to turn them into wetlands. Another suggestion was to divert the water that is now pumped from the flowed meadows area directly into the main channel, into the cove instead, thereby increasing the flow of water through the cove. A hydrologic survey of the area would be helpful. Sam P. gave the membership a historical perspective of how the river used to flow through there. Prof. Klein would prioritize working on Purgatory Cove because it has greater potential for health. He recommends trying to maintain the open water there, to prevent it from filling in naturally.
We thanked Prof. Klein for his input and informative presentation.
--MDC Greenways schedule has been pushed back somewhat, so the public meeting regarding the boat launch is likely to be held this summer.
--Rebecca McCulloch, candidate for mayor, was present at the meeting and was introduced. She came to gather information from our guests and meet the members of the INA.
--There will be an Environmental Forum for mayoral candidates on May 11 at the high school. Marc Rudnick is arranging it. Any questions members would like candidates to address can be passed on to Marc via Steve R., or by going the Hardy Pond e-mail address: Info@HardyPond.org. Don't forget to check out the Hardy Pond web site, too, at www.HardyPond.org.
--Congratulations to Joris Naiman, who was nominated to serve on the Conservation Commission!
--The comprehensive Weed Report to the MDC, complied by Aquatic Control Technology was passed out to members.
--Don't forget to save the date June 19 for the Block Party from 2-7 p.m. Contact Adrian to get involved. Lots of helping hands are needed.
The meeting adjourned at 9:40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Barbara Marriott, Recording Secretary