On Tuesday, February 21, 2012, a Community Information Meeting was held at 7:00 p.m. at the Edgewater Community Center. Residents were provided a presentation about the type of contaminants found in the soil of Veteran’s Field and the recommended method of remediation.
Ronald Dooney, Jr., the Borough’s Licensed Site Remediation Specialist of TERMS Environmental Consultants provided this presentation. Five (5) areas have been identified as areas that polychlorinated biphenyls or commonly known as PCB’s exist beyond the residential standard of 0.20 parts per million of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection standards.
In these areas, soil will be removed and replaced with clean fill. When this is completed, approximately two (2) feet of clean fill will be used to cap the entire facility, essentially raising the existing grade.
This cap will create a protective barrier between the existing soil and the new clean fill that the public will then be permitted to utilize. Concerns of some residents were the creation of dust during the remediation process. Mr. Dooney addressed this by stating their will be a safety plan in place whereby if weather conditions create this situation, monitors will signal a work stoppage.
Also, what is important to remember is that the only soil being removed is that within the five (5) areas of highest concentrations. The majority of the remediation calls for capping the existing surface with certified clean fill. The same contaminants have been found in all of the samples taken from all areas of the facility. The material found by the river is the same material found by River Road. The disturbance of heavily contaminated soil is minimal based on the size of the facility, 27.58 acres. Stephanie Santos of Neglia Engineering Associates presented the restoration phase of the project, the phase that will restore the facility to the way it was and even better with some improved features.
The Borough will utilize its Veterans Field Master Plan which was developed several years ago to improve and upgrade the facility with properly placed baseball and softball diamonds along with a soccer field. The impervious areas such as the existing basketball and tennis courts, the walkway, and community center will remain intact and undisturbed. Many residents had concerns about the placement of the proposed dog run on the south east portion of the facility.
Designers will reevaluate this proposal and consider moving or eliminating this feature. Based on the remediation and the master plan upgrades, the estimated cost of this project is between $8 and $10 million, of which approximately $1,721,240.62 already exists in New Jersey Green Acres and Bergen County Open Space funding awarded to the Borough. The estimated completion date whereby the facility can be reopened to the public is the spring of 2013.
Competitive Bids will tentatively be accepted by the borough on Friday June 1, 2012. This is the process whereby contractors submit a price for the remediation and restoration of Veteran’s Field according to the specifications prepared by the borough engineer. The successful bidder is determined by lowest price and other factors.
On Thursday May 24, 2012, the Mayor and Council held a special meeting at the Community Center to have a public hearing on the proposed adoption of bond ordinance 1474-2012, a bond ordinance of the Borough of Edgewater in the County of Bergen, New Jersey providing for various improvements to Veteran’s Field in and for the Borough of Edgewater and appropriating $9,700,000 therefore and providing for the issuance of 9,215,000 in bonds or notes of the Borough of Edgewater to finance the same. This is the funding ordinance that will be used to pay for the remediation and restoration of Veteran’s Field.
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