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1998-11-04· Don Martin, Chairman Neiland Douglas, Icwe-Chairman Norwood Pond Commission Kevin Burke Tina Cassidy Bill Frost Todd Lampert David Lang J. Michad Lawler Virginia McGlynn- Joyce McMahon Bruce Nardella Meeting Minutes Wednesday, November 4, 1998 Members present: Chairman Don Martin, Vice Chairman Neiland Douglas, Joyce McMahon, David Lang, J. Michael Lawlet, Virginia McGlynn, Todd Lalnpert, Tina Cassidy, Bill Frost, Kevin Burke. Also Present: Frank Killilea, Engineering Director for the City, and Paul Davis, Principal of Baystate Environmental, Inc. Martin calls the meeting to order at 7:05 P.M. and asks if there are any members of the public who would like to speak. Kathy Burock of the Brimbal Avenue Neighborhood Association wants to know if and when there will be a public hearing to get input from the community. Cassidy responds there are no immediate plans for a formal public hearing. She states that there are public comment periods at the beginning and end of each of the Commission meetings for such input, but the Commission has not disscussed a formal public hearing. She aiso states that ifthere is an organization ofresidents who are concerned about specific issues, perhaps a special meeting could be arranged where those residents could meet with several members of the Board. Burock responds it should be more of a community-wide meeting so that all persons who would be affected by the final recommendation would have an opportunity to address their concerns. Martin said this matter will be taken under consideration. Lang states that this was discussed earlier and members agreed that a hearing should probably be held once the Commission's recommendations are formulated. He also stresses there is no formal plan, just ideas at this time. Another member of the Brimbat Avenue Neighborhood Association voices concerns about drainage, stating there are already water problems on Brimbal Avenue. Killilea said the City is having drainage studies done by Camp Dresser and McKee of the Brimbal Avenue area and expects the design reports to be submitted to the City within a month, and that those reports will be made public. Martin asks for comments on the October 7, 1998 meeting minutes· Lang notes one amendment to an item on page 4. Norwood Pond Commission November 4, 1998 meeting minutes Page two MeGlynn: Motion to accept the minutes of the October ,7, 1998 meeting minutes as drafted, seconded by Lampert. All members in favor, motion carries. A resident asks if the Commission will make available copies of past meeting minutes. Cassidy says minutes, handouts, reports, maps, etc. are available in the Planning Department. She is questioned about providing several hundred copies of each, and advises the resident it would be better for him to have them reproduced at a copy center. Don Martin introduces Paul Davis, Senior Environmental Scientist with Baystate Environmental Consultants, Inc., who was contracted to perform a study of Norwood Pond to develop some pond management recommendations. Davis states elements of the contract are a) Watershed Investigation which looks at the pond and its contents as well as everything surround it including depth, width, etc., b) Morphometric Data, c) Hydrological Nutrient Budget, d) Biological Studies including aquatic plants and phytoplankton, the water quality elements, both within the pond and its incoming tributaries and any other things in the watershed which may be contributing to problems in the pond, e) Sediment Analysis, f) Groundwater, and finally putting all the information together and gaining input from the community which he hopes to be able to do tonight because this would be helpful to analyze how the pond has changed. The study is not complete so he will present the fieldwork, but the report should be finished sometime in this calendar year. Davis further states the watershed is 700 acres, which is not huge, but large enough to give serious amount of flow over the course of a year. It gets nmofffrom the landfill and two main tributaries are the Beaver Pond area and the North Shore Music Theater area. Two smaller tributaries come from a small vernal pool off the highway to the Hasbro Toy Corp and another gets storm water runoff from the North Shore Music Theater parking lot. There is also a dam at the northern end, which is an outlet into O'Leary's Broolc. Davis indicates that depth was measured in over one hundred locations in the pond and the average depth is four and a half feet. Total volume of the pond is nine million cubic feet, and the annual flow is estimated to be fifty-seven million cubic feet. Davis states he did not see an intense alga problem but observed a fair amount of aquatic macrophites. This was not so much in the central portions of the pond but mainly in the coves and along the banks, so there is a variable condition in the pond. He shows a chart of several different species, which are dominant. With regard to water quality, Davis states that samples were taken on three occasions to assess water quality in the pond. Not much turbidity was observed in the pond, conductivity was in the low to moderate range, and alkalinity was on the lower end of the scale, so there is not much buffering capacity. The pH was mostly neutral. Norwood Pond Commission November 4, 1998 meeting Page three Groundwater samples were taken in the Beaver Pond and North Short Music Theater areas. The pH was atypical, as was dissolved oxygen. One important fact is that sediments accumulate nutrients and phosphorous in the pond and can be released from the bottom sediments when the bottom waters have no oxygen. So under conditions of low oxygen in the bottom waters, phosphorous could have an influence on the total nutrient factor of the lake. Chlorine was moderate, iron levels were high, ammonia was quite high, total nitrogen was fairly high, and phosphorous levels are somewhat high, but more to the moderite level. That's important because phosphorous is the limiting nutrient in Norwood Pond. So in terms of pond management we really have to be sensitive to new potential sources of phosphorous because there' s a substantial amount of nitrogen there waiting to be used, and if phosphorous was increased, we could expect some new problems to develop. Finally, with regard to fecal coliform, which is a measure of bacteria, he did not see any evidence of failed septic systems in the area with !eachate gging into the pond and does not see any problem with contamination from the source. However, geese and ducks are increasing in number especially in the upper areas, and some contamination could possibly occur. Basically, Davis thinks Norwood Pond is an exceptional pond. There's some nearby residential development going on but overall it' s a natural pond setting, not atypical for this type of pond. Norwood Pond doesn't seem to have too many nutrients in the water from the watershed. It's relatively stable in the middle level, but a lot of nutrients in the sediment, and that combined with the sediment coming in can contribute to the growth of aquatic weeds which is something that needs to be considered in developing recommendations for the pond. His closing thought on management is that anything we can do to the watershed to limit the new introduction of nutrients could only help the pond. There are management techniques such as hydraulic dredging. Chemical treatment is not recommended, and weed harvesting is not recommended because it needs to be done over and over again. Dredging will be a long-term solution, and that will be discussed in the report. Martin thanks Davis for attending and indicates he will be staying until the end of the meeting if any residents have questions. He then introduces Joan Fairbanks who will make a presentation on behalf of the Beverly Recreation Commission. Fairbanks discusses the need for additional fields for growing sports such as lacrosse, soccer, softball and co-ed softball. Existing fields are being over-used. At least three long fields, two sixty-foot diamonds, and two ninety-foot diamonds are needed, as well as at least 200 parking spaces. Portable stands and bathroom facilities will also need to be provided. She said that three years ago the cost for the fields was estimated to be Norwood Pond Commission November 4, 1998 meeting minutes Page three $450,000. Two large fields and three small fields could be available at Johnson Tree Farm where the area is very flat and there is are relatively few trees to be removed. Douglas asked about water and drainage, and Fairbanks replied that any field would need irrigation. She again stressed overuse of the existing fields, and indicates that as a result there is no growing time for the land to recover from season to season. She also discusses the need for lit fields to be used at night. Douglas notes there was a large tract offand behind the North Beverly School owned by the City. Lang asked about the old Henderson property. Director of Constituent Services Tom Scully indicates there was a proposal to build an ice Arena up there, but did not know how much of the land it would encompass. Fairbanks states that that parcel would be a great spot for an adult field with lights because it could be used for three games a night, which would triple the land use. There are no neighbors in the immediate area who would be inconvenienced by it. Douglas states the Commission needs more information and,details from the Recreation Department regarding irrigation of the fields and the effect 6n Norwood Pond. Fairbanks said all the fertilizers are organic and wouldn't have any effect unless you were going to put it right next to the pond. Lang questions the use of pesticides to control weeds. Douglas reiterated that the plan shows three long fields, two sixty-foot diamonds and the ninety-foot diamond, to which Fairbanks agreed. This plan was developed a number of years ago by the former Public Works Director, and may be useful to the Commission' s efforts. Next, Martin introduces Frank Killilea for an update on the landfill closure plan. Killilea states that he spoke with the consultants Malcolm Pintie who confirmed that the earlier report on the three types of landfills did reflect DEP's latest philosophy. DEP has relaxed its policies somewhat over the past years in terms of what they will allow if a community wants recreational uses on top of a landfill. However, it's really based on the municipality having to prove that it is proper in that you have to do a lot of risk analyses, a lot of testing, and be subject to whatever DEP rules are in effect in that period of time. Our problem now in the landfill is that we have high gas production. So we basically have to sample the entire thirty acres. Malcolm Pirnie's recommendation to the Commission on the use of the site was that you would need to install an active piped gas collection system underneath the thermogeotetic fiber, and also have to have a very rigorous on- going sampling process. Malcolm Pirnie continues to be of the opinion that the cost of active recreation is approximately one million dollars cost over and above the landfill closure costs as they stated to you in the earlier presentation. DEP has changed from saying you can't do it to saying you can do it if you can prove you don't have these conditions, and you will have to sample and bear the cost of all those samples as long as yoU're using the facility forthat purpose. Burke asks if all sections were subject to the Norwood Pond Commission November 4, 1998 meeting minutes Page four Same levels of risk, and Killilea states there are hot spots all around the thirty acres. There's not just one hot spot in the north or south end. They're coming through the entire thirty acres. Once the City caps the landfill it has to replicate wetlands around the perimeter and that' s going to take up some space right there. The area is pretty heavy terrain, and it's not fiat. It's quite a grade. Burke asks about property adjacent to the school and wants to know if that is usable at all, and Ki!lilca says it's all pretty much downgrade. Lang asks if the consultants are indicating that both a risk analysis and active flare system will be required. Killilea responds that the $1 million is for both the piping for the gas, the flare and also the risk analysis and that Malcolm Pirnie is saying that DEP is going to let you put in the piping system and flare and make you continue to do risk analyses as long as you're using the field for a playing field. Killilea said they submitted a plan to DEP on October 15, 1998 to cap the landfill for passive recreation and nature trails over the landfill. That plan is being evaluated by them now. He stresses a very strict deadline for having the landfill capped by November 1999. Significant monetary penalties are involved and we can't have any more delays. Martin asks for public comment at this time. Larry Glass of Brimbal Hill Drive stated he was confused about the recommendation to use the landfill for recreational facilities and Douglas states the Calmmission recommended passive recreation use of the property and discussed the possibility of adding recreational facilities along with treatment and consideration of the landfdl itself. Glass asks Davis what the prognosis might be with regard to the integrity of the entire watershed area itself and wants to know of any estimated potential damage. Davis reiterated that Norwood Pond is fairly sensitive to nutrients, and to the extent that any development that happens in the perimeter of the watershed at Norwood Pond contributes to the phosphorous, we can expect a response by the pond which will be in the negative in that there would be more plant growth, more than what we have now. Lang mentions that it will be difficult to control runoff from the fields. Glass asks whether increased traffic will release more gases into the area and cause damage to the watershed. Davis states more direct runoff in a shorter time could be a problem, but if development is done properly, and that means controlling the density of the development, you can have development without causing a problem. Douglas adds that the area behind the school is not in the Norwood Pond watershed, and it would drain to the north, not into the Norwood Pond area. Martin states this Commission was formed to look into reuse for the Norwood Pond property. Martin recognizes Burock who repeats the need for a public hearing. She states the Neighborhood Association talked about the proposed soccer fields and had a meeting with Mike Cabill. Norwood Pond Commission November 4, 1998 meeting minutes Page five A Putnam Street resident was concerned, stating there was going to be a new parking lot for the school and with the increasing traffic, people will be using that parking lot all weekend, so that any traffic is going to end up in that lot and go down Putnam Street. Richard Roundy states he has suffered with the traffic from the North Shore Music Theater for 38 odd years and with regard to the overpass, he can see no way to support spending five million dollars for an overpass that only moves traffic problems down Brimbal Avenue to another location unless that overpass is designed to include getting on and off Route 128. He mentions using $1 million to prnpedy cap the landfill to use for an active recreational facility, and says the Commission should endeavor to get that extra one million dollars to cap the landfill. Martin reminds members that the next Commission meeting will be held on Wednesday December 2, 1998 at 7:00 P.M. McMahon: motion to adjourn, seconded by Lang. All members in favor motion carries. Meeting is adjourned at 9:10 P.M.