Councillors request independent soil study for proposed high school site prior to bonding

City Council President: “We need to know everything about that [Wonderland] site”

By Barbara Taormina

Toward the end of this week’s long City Council meeting, councillors heard a motion from Ward 1 Councillor Joanne McKenna and City Council President Anthony Cogliandro that Mayor Patrick Keefe be requested to hire an independent environmental assessment company to conduct a full and complete environmental assessment and thorough geotechnical testing of the proposed high school site to ensure there are no hidden site development costs associated with soil conditions, hazardous materials, wetlands and other environmentally sensitive considerations. The results of the assessment shall be provided to the City Council for public review and comment prior to the public hearing for a bond authorization request.

McKenna said there were concerns about wetlands on the site as well as the possibility of contaminated soil. “We don’t know what we’ll find at Wonderland – a hundred years of what?” said McKenna. “These are underestimated costs the City Council should know about, now.”

Cogliandro said he had been asking about conservation since 2022. Since then, additional areas on the former track have been flagged as possible wetlands. Cogliandro said the latest schematic design showed the school building on a small section of the track, which means the building design may need to be readjusted.

Councillor-at-Large Marc Silvestri asked what may have been on the minds of many when he heard the motion. Silvestri questioned if Brian Dakin’s company was already doing this assessment. Cogliandro said they have not restarted that assessment process, which was interrupted when the council voted to return to the existing site to build the school. The council voted to approve funding for the Conservation Commission to do the testing, but the job was too big and additional areas requiring testing were found. They had to hire a third party and that’s where things stopped.

“All this motion is asking is that the process be restarted,” said Cogliandro. “This isn’t to say Wonderland is bad, it’s to say that’s where we’re building the school and we need to know everything about that site.”

Councillor-at-Large Anthony Zambuto, who has opposed building at Wonderland because of the loss of tax revenue it would mean for the city, supported the motion. “We need to know everything about that site before we vote to bond the funding for the school,” said Zambuto.

Councillor-at-Large Michelle Kelly agreed. “The more unknowns we have, the more difficult it is for us to have confidence in our vote for funding,” said Kelley.