Minutes of November 1, 2001

[Approved 11/15/01]

Present: Robert Boisselle, Paul Locke, Nancy Naslas, Bruce Rider, David Valade

The minutes dated October 18, 2001 are still in the process of being transcribed and will be ready for approval at the next meeting.

Voted: To pay the secretary $297.00 for services rendered in October.

Correspondence:

36 Slayton Road
From: Regnante, Serio & Osborne: "Thank you for replying to my letter of 10-18-02 regarding the continued meeting of the Conservation Commission. Would you please put me on the agenda for Thursday, 12-6-01 relative to 36 Slayton Road. In the interim, we will meet with Hayes Engineering, Joe Lynch and the Fire Chief to discuss the matter. By copy of this letter to Joe Lynch, I am asking him to set up an appointment with the Fire Chief at their convenience and Peter Ogren and I will attend. Signed: Theodore Regnante

DEP File #217-0122 - Mt. Hood Golf Course
From: Dept. of Environmental Protection: File # for the Mt. Hood Golf Course is officially now #217-0122. This is a notification from the DEP - Wetlands in Wilmington.

Mass Wildlife News - They are talking about "Moose on the Move" and it is an early bear season (the licensed hunters brought in 98 black bears this year from 9-4 - 9-22), and 76 bears were tagged doing the same season last year. The largest bear reported weighed 345 lbs. field dressed and was taken in Westfield.

City of Melrose - Correspondence from Barbara Jesse, tree warden.
"At the request of residence at 244 Vinton Street across from the Roosevelt School, I inspected some trees overhanging the property line that are growing on conservation land. Several trees are on this parcel that are aged and deteriorating. They could pose a problem if they fell down to the sidewalk along Vinton as well. I suggest a walk thru of this site and consideration of removal of some of these threatening trees."

Nancy: I also have a comment on the same subject. I was approached by a Roosevelt parent from 265 Vinton Street, Kathy Picket-Brodeur, and she brought to my attention that this same place has a lot of big chunks of metal trash on it. That area is not a school, they get bussed over to the Franklin, so not only are these threatening trees hanging over school children waiting at a bus stop, but the children are going into those woods and rolling things out of the woods and making a big mess. What happens when it is city land, but it gets put into the conservation pigeonhole, as opposed to parks, school, etc.? Who pays on that one?

Nancy: I will speak to Barbara Jesse and ask her opinion on how many unsafe trees should be taken care of at this site.

Bob: Barbara can identify the trees to be taken care of.

Nancy: I will also contact DPW to look at the rest of the site for clean-up. On another subject regarding getting the city to clean up pieces of city land, remember those drums we talked about that were near Conant Park. Last time I spoke with Joe Lynch, since the Fire Department had given them a clean bill of health on the drums, i.e., they were not a hazardous material issue and they have decided to just leave them there because it will be a pain in the neck to get them out. I disagree with that. I think they are unsightly and I think they should be taken out.

Paul: Having them there would encourage people to dump other material there.

Nancy: Frankly I am not completely convinced there is no environmental contamination there.

Bob: The question is, we are going to need at least probably a small dozer or bobcat to remove the drums?

Nancy: Why can't two guys put one drum in an over pack and carry it out? I have called Joe Lynch and he suggested calling the Fire Chief and learning more about what they consider the status of the drums to be.

Bob: Did they have a hazmat team come in, or how did they evaluate it

Nancy: They go out and evaluate. I don't know what they do, but they went in and determined that there were no hazardous materials there. I don't know how they determined that.

Bob: They probably brought one of their portable probes with them.

Dave: Which only would indicate there is no leaks on the barrel, significant to tell you what is in the barrels, whether it is bad.

Nancy: Anecdotal evidence tells us those drums were used for waste oil storage. Whether or not they had waste oil in them when they were dumped there is another story.

Bob: Give Fire Chief Zinck a call and ask him what the reports stated on that.

Nancy: Before it snows I would like to resolve that issue and I am not comfortable leaving drums there.

Bob: We have maintenance money that we can talk with Joe about having some of the DPW, if they want overtime, we would pay for a crew of two to get in there to dig it out. The conservation commission would fund the clean-up, before they do anything you have to get the Treasurer's office to sign the papers pay funds from Conservation Commission to DPW.

David: There is a question that goes beyond that. We need to dispose it once they have dug it out and if it contains waste oil or something else, it is probably going to cost more than we can afford.

Nancy: It doesn't matter if it contains waste oil, it can't be where it is.

David: I know we need put it somewhere, but we need to figure out where to dispose of it.

Bob: DPW has a site I believe. Ask Joe about that.

Paul: If it does contain waste oil or other hazardous material, then we have proved the Fire Dept. and DWP wrong, and it should go back into their hands.

David: Depending on what it actually contains, we get the prior owner or person that alleged to have dumped it.

Bob: That is city land he told you, right?

Nancy: It was donated to the city more than one and less than two years ago.

Bob: He probably wasn't aware that stuff was there.

Paul: It doesn't matter if he was aware or not.

David: There is a possibility that it was donated so that the person didn't have to deal with it.

Nancy: What about paperwork that needs to be submitted since it is in the buffer zone to the riverfront/wetland area?

Bob: Technically, we are initiating the retrieval of that material so I don't think we need any paperwork right now.

Resignation of Bill Dailey, Conservation Commission member:
Correspondence From Bill Dailey to the Honorable Richard Lyons' Office of the Mayor: "I have recently moved my residence and no longer reside in Melrose. As such I hereby submit my resignation effective immediately as a member of the Melrose Conservation Commission. I appreciate the opportunity to have served on the commission over the past several years and I thank you for having appointed me during your first term as Mayor. Although my business continues to be located in Melrose and thus I am sure I will see them from time to time. I will miss working with the wonderful members currently serving on the commission. I know that they will continue their always excellent and unselfish service to the City.

Bob: He will be missed.

Summary of Ell Pond Improvement Council Meeting - 10-4-01
Concession Stand: The committee discussed the concession stand that the Melrose Youth Soccer folks are proposing for the knoll area. The Parks Commission has met once on this topic, and will meet again on October 11 to vote on whether or not to allow it. Committee members are encouraged to attend to voice our opposition to this idea. (Ed Note: The Parks Commission voted 3 to 1 to approve the motion subject to a site visit. (The commission may recommend a smaller building or adjust the location) and subject to approval from the Conservation Commission.)

Water Quality: New tests results on the coliform and e-coli levels in the pond show higher levels than were expected. Additional rounds of testing will be run in late October and again in January. Fortunately, the committee has secured additional funding to pay for these tests.

Crystal Street: The Parks Dept. has done some impressive work on the Crystal Street Park. The benches, trees and shrubs, and the granite boulder to support the commemorative plaque have all been installed. Additionally, the footpath has been repaired where recent rainstorms had created gullies. Barbara Jesse has advised us to wait until the spring to plant additional trees in the area.

Other Business: Many people stopped by the Ell Pond booth at the Victorian Fair and requested information. The committee received $75 in donations from the public.

Howie Kaufman proposed putting together an Ell Pond newsletter. The committee discussed this idea and agreed that it would be a valuable way to inform members and the interested public about our activities. This newsletter would be sent out electronically to all whose e-mail addresses we have and via mail to those that have requested information on the group.

The committee discussed the value of moving the annual firefighters' carnival from the knoll area to the high school parking lot and decided to ask the Parks Commission to place it on their agenda for an upcoming meeting.

Linda Benezra has proposed a new city ordinance prohibiting the feeding of geese and ducks. The text: Feeding of Geese and Wildlife on Public Land. No person shall feed any geese or other wildlife on any public land within the city. The penalty for such an offense shall be $50.00 (fifty dollars).

2-78 Main St., Pembroke Real Estate/Proposed Mixed Use Residential Development
Correspondence was received addressed to: Joe Lynch, John Gregorio, Ruth Clay, Frank Zinck, Richard Smith, Robert Lucas, Robert Boisselle, from Denise Gaffey, Acting Director of the Planning Board regarding Proposed Mixed Use Residential Development for 2-78 Main Street. Pembroke Real Estate filed an Application with the City Clerk for a Special Permit for Multifamily Use in a Non-residentially zoned area (BB-1), to permit a 579 residential unit development (400 units in Melrose and 179 units in Malden) with a small retail component. There will be a public hearing Tuesday, December 4, 2001 at 7:30 p.m. in the Aldermanic Chambers. Attached to this correspondence was a copy of the cover letter submitted with the application and a one-page description of the permits sought. This letter and attachment is on file.

David: Currently we have six members on the board with Bill's resignation, two of which cannot participate in the Pembroke process, which would require all four of the other members to be here to have a quorum. If they come after the first of the year and both you and Peter are elected for city offices, we will have at that point four members, assuming another member hasn't been appointed as yet, as it is possible the current mayor may not appoint someone and leave it to the next Mayor to do. It this occurs it will be impossible for us to have a quorum because we need 3 members for a quorum. Two of the four will not be able to participate, which would leave you two and you would be unable to deal with the matter at that time. By next week after the city election we will know whether what the situation is. If we are in the situation where both you and Peter are elected, we should urge Pembroke to do it before the end of the year so we can actually have a quorum and not stick it in some kind of limbo that could get the city and us in trouble.

Bob: I will pass that on to Mr. Bell.

Mt. Hood Memorial Park and Golf Course
Correspondence dated 10/12/01 from the Office of the Inspector General: to Richard Lyons, Mayor "As you know, my Office is reviewing a number of issues pertaining to the Mt. Hood Memorial Park & Golf Course. Although our review is still ongoing, we have identified a matter of potential financial implications for the City: our analysis indicates that the City is still owed at least $63,000 for fill delivered to Mt. Hood, and may be owed more than $68,000. I have decided to bring this matter to your attention at this time in order to enable the City to take prompt and appropriate action to protect its financial interests. A summary of our analysis is provided below.

According to records provided to this Office by the City, Gator Hood, LLC currently owes the City $42,1`79 more than the amount reported to this Office by the City. The City's agreement with Gator Hood, LLC (Gator) obligates Gator to pay the City $0.70 per ton to deliver fill to the Mt. Hood site and provide related construction services. The agreement authorizes Gator to deduct from its payments to the City the cost of site preparation expenses incurred by the City and paid by Gator.

A spreadsheet provided by the City on August 13, 2001 in response to the Office's request for documents and financial information concerning the City's agreement with Gator lists Gator's outstanding financial obligation to the City as $20,821. However, the spreadsheet appears to be incomplete: it shows neither Gator's financial obligations to the City prior to February 16, 2001 nor any of Gator's payments to City vendors.

The Office's analysis of the records provided to this Office by the City shows that Gator delivered 679,644 tons of fill to Mt. Hood between 5-3-00 and 7-20-01. At $0.70 per ton, the dollar value of the delivered fill totals $475,751. The City's records also show that Gator's payments to the City to date total $175,043 and that Gator's payments to City vendors total $237,708. Deducting these amounts from $475,751 yields an unpaid financial obligation to the City of $63,000.

According to Central Artery/Tunnel Project records, fill deliveries to Mt. Hood exceeded the fill deliveries shown in the City's records by more than 7,000 tons. The value of the additional fill not shown in the City's records to $5,388.

This Office has compared the City's fill delivery records with Central Artery/Tunnel (CA/T) Project records of fill deliveries to Mt. Hood. Both the City and the CA/T Project have computed total tonnages on the basis of daily delivery logs prepared by Modern Continental Construction Company, which delivered the fill to Mt. Hood under an agreement with Gator. However, there is a 7,697-ton discrepancy between the two sets of fill delivery records. The CA/T Project records, which constitute the basis for the CA/T project's payments to Modern continental, list fill deliveries on certain days for which the City has no records of fill deliveries. The additional 7,697 tons of fill reported on the CA/T Project records represents a $5,388 increase in Gator's financial obligation to the City. Based on the CA/T Project records of fill deliveries, this Office calculates that Gator's unpaid financial obligation to the City would be $68,388.

We recommend that the City review its fill delivery and payment records and take immediate steps to ensure that the City receives full payment for all fill delivered to Mt. Hood. We would be glad to assist in this process by meeting with the City to provide a more detailed explanation of this Office's analysis. If you have questions or if you would like to schedule a meeting, please feel free to contact Pamela Bloomfield of my staff.

Sincerely, Gregory W. Sullivan, Acting Inspector General"

Penny Road, former Anderson Property:
This place went into bankruptcy, the property that is currently waiting a sale.

Bob: Yes, there are two bidders on that.

Dave: Is the current owner aware that their Order of Conditions has expired?

Bob: The new bidders are.

Nancy: What do we do about the Bill's vacancy in the commission?

Bob: We can advertise for the position or we get some people to come in as in the past, interview them.

Nancy: What is the usual procedure? I remember reading an ad in the paper.

Bob: Right. What we have done in the past is screen the candidates for the mayor and handle our recommendations.

David: I suggest we have two people that regularly show up. Terry Waugh and Priscilla Hook are always here and they may consider joining.

Nancy: We could start interviewing the first of the year. All we want to do is to make the mayor's job easier.

It was decided that we would donate books on the Wetlands to the Melrose Public Library.

Voted: to adjourn at 8 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Nancy Pritchard
Secretary