Mr. David Dickinson, Chairman of the Ell Pond Restoration Committee
presented specifications for Crystal Street Parkland Restoration,
which included a current and future drawing of the Crystal Street
area. There are grant funds available until the end of December to
get the work done. Bob suggested that Mr. Dickinson take the abbreviated
Notice of Intent and have it filled out and return it to us right
away. The commission needs the paperwork to back this up. Mr. Dickinson
explained that there is a 5th tennis court that has been abandoned
for years and it is sinking into the wetlands, and there is an inappropriately
located parking lot. They plan to remove these and turn them into
shore line green space with a path.
Nancy: Which city department has jurisdiction over that land?
Mr. Dickinson: There is a memorandum of understanding between the
Park Department and School Department. I believe it is the Park Department,
but I suspect that legally it is the School Department. The Park Department
does all the maintenance on it.
Nancy: Whoever has jurisdiction over it may need to be the applicant
for the abbreviated Notice of Intent.
Mr. Dickinson: At this point the work doesn't include the 34 Crystal
St. property. All signs are that eventually the property will be turned
over to the city, but that has not yet happened and we are not moving
forward with any restoration plans there.
Bob: Your final product here on the last sheet shows 34 Crystal
St. incorporated into this.
The Notice of Intent has to show the particular project on Crystal
St. at this time. Are you doing any filling in this operation?
Mr. Dickinson: There is excavation of the tennis court, excavation
of the parking areas and there is backfill to grade with the top of
appropriate slanting. It is just bringing it up to existing grade
now and the final elevations should be the same as now.
Bob: In your submittal there should be some grading marks on the
map. You should get a surveyor taking shots before and after. We will
have to know the level of the ground at this point. Following procedures
of this Notice of Intent you are going to have to come in with specific
types of documentation that is required by the Department and by us.
At this point this will not pass for Notice of Intent because you
are missing information on the document.
Mr. Dickinson: Since we are working with very limited funds the
way we have structured it is we have given you the existing topo of
Sheet 1 and we have made it clear that the final elevations are equal
to current elevations. A surveyor could drain our budget.
Bob: The initial plan and the final plan have to be certified by
a registered engineer so that someone is going to be responsible.
You are in a floodplain also.
Mr. Dickinson: Is there a subject of issue or is this procedure?
All that we are doing takes us so much further towards flood control.
We don't have that kind of funding and I would hate to have a positive
project be derailed.
Bob: We have a request for a swimming pool coming before us tonight
and they are required to bring in a stamp from the certified engineer
with the appropriate lines on the plans showing the elevation of the
property.
Mr. Dickinson: We have that.
Bob: I don't see the signature of the engineer. When you come back
with the abbreviated Notice of Intent, you are going to need it stamped.
Dana Jewell: What kind of detail do you need as far as those grades
go? Is this contour sheet that is done by the city acceptable?
Bob: Yes, if you have a certified engineer that will put a stamp
on it.
Dana Jewell: Could the city engineer do it?
Bob: You'll have to ask the city engineer about that? If that is
part of the agreement with the city and their particular part of the
donation, that could be your aspect at that point. In your involvement
with the grant, there was a specific city involvement in services.
Nancy: I believe there is some documentation that comes along with
the form that tells you just what you need to present to us. In addition
to the surveying point you need to point out the edge of the wetland
and also document how far out the buffer zone to the wetland extends
100 feet so we know where we are approving that is within our jurisdiction.
Mr. Dickinson: It would be an unfortunate use of scarce public monies
to have to hire an engineer when everyone knows it is clearly within
the buffer zone and that is why we are doing this work.
Nancy: It is the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act and applies
to everyone across the board. We are required to only approve plans
that show the items listed that are required and that will be in the
packet that Bob will give you.
Paul: Unfortunately, prior to these rules, the history is that our
exempting our cities and towns from these rules would lead to our
local officials ignoring them because they feel their judgment is
correct.
Bob: Is this the only portion you are working on or are your doing
more?
Mr. Dickinson: Yes this is all we are working on. I hope you can
work with us to get this through by December 31, 199. We do have an
adoptive site designation for the trail from the footbridge to the
first big light on the soccer field to try to maintain that land for
conservation land. There is a lot of debris that goes back there,
but it is just trail maintenance.
Bob: What is the view of the commission if I receive a Notice of
Intent beforehand and advertise it in the paper for the 21st of this
month?
Nancy: I make a motion that we schedule a public hearing for October
21 on the condition that all the abutters get their proper notification
and notice will be confirmed, and if Ell Pond Restoration Committee
is in agreement that the forms are received by us prior to that meeting
on the 21st. The motion was moved.
Bob: If I get the needed information within this week I can advertise
on Monday to the appropriate newspaper for the public hearing on the
21st. I need a certain time period of at least 10 days notice. Once
I receive it I must meet the Melrose Free Press deadline by Monday
to advertise it.
Denise Gaffey : Do you need to have all the attachments with that
application if we get held up with the registered engineer?
Nancy: People often submit an addendum with their packages throughout
the course of the hearing. I think that so long as you get the ball
rolling for the packages completed for the public hearing then the
issue won't be closed.
Bob: At the public hearing you are also submitting a registered
letter to the abutters regarding the particular project. The abutters
will be determined by the Assessor's office and they will have the
topo map of individuals around the property. Just to make it very
clear what an abutter means under the Massachusetts Wetland Protection
Act: "Meeting of all abutters within 100 feet from the property
line not from the limit of the proposed activity".
Bill Dailey: Regarding your contract or grant in terms of getting
it done by the end of the year, does it say it has to be spent or
the work completed by the end of the year?
Mr. Dickinson: I think it says the work has to be completed by the
end of the year.
Bill: If it says spent you might want to see what spending constitutes.
If it is contingent on spending and spending is loosely defined maybe
you can put the money in escrow under the grant or your contract contingent
if the work spilled over?
Bob: You could have the representative of the applicant be involved
in this Notice of Intent also.
Dana Jewell: How does this become School Department's property?
Bob: It is part of the grant I believe. About 15 -25 years ago there
was a large block of land transferred over to the School Department
for building the middle school and high school and part of that grant
was that so much federal money and acreage was needed. The past couple
of years the Park Department has taken over the maintenance of this
property, but the School Department still has legal authority.
Bob: Did you send a letter to the School Department or receive any
correspondence from them indicating they would accept this project
as described?
Mr. Dickinson: No
Bob: You may want to clarify that because they could stop the project
very quickly or else it could get very muddled.
Mr. Dickinson: The next process is to send it to whom?
Bob: Give me a call and I will process it.
Mr. Dickinson: What we are going to try to do is have the city speak
to the engineer, certify the official city map that is basic for all
this work and put the same topo lines on the final plans and have
them sign that. Will that be an acceptable approach?
Bob: Yes
Denise Gaffey: What will happen on the 21st?
Bob: On the 21st you will have a formal hearing with a presentation
by you or someone describing the project and there will be questions
asked of the individual who is submitting the plans.
Denise Gaffey: Would you determine then if there were any permits
needed?
Bob: At that point we will probably make a decision for an approval
since it is an abbreviated Notice of Intent and a vote will be taken.
If you have an approval you are on your way and if there is a denial
you can appeal the case to DEP and you have twenty-five days to send
an appeal. There is a third option, if you are missing information
we can request with your agreement to extend the hearing and come
back two weeks later. In that case we don't approve or deny it, but
just extend it.
