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Residents still not happy with
the latest plans for water treatment facility
By Jay Turner
Citizen Staff
Despite
getting the 100-foot buffer of trees that they had previously
asked for, residents of the Riverview Road area are still not
satisfied with the DPW’s most recent plans for a proposed water
treatment facility slated to be built on the land behind their
homes.
A group of
more than 20 residents made those sentiments quite clear at last
Wednesday’s Planning Board hearing, where concerns ranged from
quality of life issues to declining property values to even the
possibility of contaminated water resulting from a tannery that
once operated on the site.
It was the
first public meeting on the water treatment facility since
September 23, when DPW Superintendent Mike Trotta presented the
Board of Selectmen with plans that he thought would finally
satisfy all sides, including the zoning board, the Conservation
Commission and the neighboring residents. The plans, which had
been revised for the third time, called for an $11 million, 115
by 85-foot building with an approximately 25-foot water tower to
be built on town-owned land behind the Neponset Valley
Technology Park — and at least 100 feet away from the trees
along Riverview Road.
But residents
were hardly satisfied with the so-called compromise, according
to Riverview Road resident Sherry Alpert, and they were angry
that they had to read about it in the newspaper, while also
reading BOS chairman John Connolly tell the Boston Globe that
the “majority of the neighbors are no longer concerned.”
“We knew
nothing about [the BOS meeting],” said Alpert in a telephone
interview. “We have been stewing about it.”
Alpert further
explained that the 100-foot buffer was a request that she had
“mistakenly” made without gathering enough information about the
area.
“I thought 100
feet of trees would be enough so that residents wouldn’t be able
to see the building,” she said.
More
importantly, Alpert said she then became aware of the tannery, a
leather company that Planning Board member George Jenkins
remembered used to tan hides “right on the ground.”
“We don’t know
that there’s contamination back there,” Alpert said, “but nobody
is showing us there isn’t.”
At the hearing
last week, Jenkins advised the DPW’s engineers to test soil
borings taken from the site for contaminants, but Ron Ponte from
the firm Tata and Howard said contamination would have already
been discovered since a nearby well had previously been in use.
Residents took
little comfort in Ponte’s response, however, as neighbor Keith
Poole shared that his cousin died from contaminated well water
in Woburn after assurances from city officials that the water
was safe — a story made famous by the book and movie “A Civil
Action.”
“It’s a bit of
a reach,” said Jenkins of the possibility of contamination in
the area, “but it’s still a concern.”
And while
Jenkins told the
Citizen he is “totally in favor of the treatment
plant,” he also said he considers the neighbors’ concerns to be
legitimate.
“If there are
ways to mitigate those concerns, then we have to explore every
possible solution,” he said. “Appease the neighborhood; that’s
all it takes.”
In the
meantime, Planning Board Chairman Jeremy Comeau said the board
will continue to investigate minor safety concerns regarding the
site plan before putting it to a vote at some point in the near
future.
“We just have
to wait for a little more comment back from [town engineer] Tom
Houston, a little more comment from the fire chief, and we’ll
also listen very closely to the Conservation Commission,” Comeau
said.
As for the
residents, they plan to continue to oppose the facility until
their needs and concerns are addressed. They are scheduled to
meet with selectmen next, and this past Sunday, direct abutters
Michael and Diane Toland hosted a viewing of the site from their
backyard, which they promoted with flyers passed out by fellow
abutter Larry Ryan.
October 23, 2008
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