April 2 Public Meeting on Roosevelt Park Soil Remediation Plan

Special to The Advocate

A public meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 2 at 6 p.m. in the Herbert L. Jackson Council Chamber (Room 106, Malden City Hall, 215 Pleasant St.) to discuss the draft plan to remove contaminated soil within a section of Roosevelt Park that is currently fenced off and located in the southeast corner of the park adjacent to Salemwood School. The City’s environmental consultant, Nangle Consulting Associates (NCA), has developed the draft plan to reopen the southeast corner of the park in a manner fully compliant with Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) regulations.

The draft plan calls for the removal and disposal of the vegetated overgrowth and upper 1.5 feet (18 inches) of existing soil within the approximately 16,000-square-foot fenced-in area currently closed to the public. The proposed scope of work would include the installation of a geotextile fabric and the placement of clean fill. The area disturbed by the work will be restored with new infield and grass surfaces followed by the removal of all the temporary fencing. Once publicly vetted, designed, permitted and bid, the remediation work is expected to take 1-3 months to complete with additional time needed for the grass to germinate and establish a strong root system. The work is being paid for with funds currently approved by HUD for this use through a Section 108 loan, with an estimated cost of $850,000.

When this work is completed, the entire Roosevelt Park will be open to the public for unrestricted use and fully compliant with all current MassDEP regulations.

NCA will finalize the soil remediation plan once the public meeting is held, responses are made to comments during the required 20-day public comment period and an Order of Conditions has been issued by the Malden Conservation Commission. The draft plan and other project information can be found on www.cityofmalden.org/roosevelt.