Neighbors say dirt decision rushed

Angry residents are raising new questions about the Needham School Committee's decision last month to allow contractors to dump 60,000 cubic yards of dirt excavated during the high school renovation on the former Nike missile site.

Neighbors along Pine and Charles River streets say the decision was rushed and made without thorough testing of the site for contamination.

A study conducted by GZA GeoEnvironmental Inc., a firm hired by the Permanent Public Building Committee over the summer, concluded the site was "suitable" for accepting dirt and "could allow for redevelopment," provided the town cleaned up lead contamination found near a police firing range.

Neighbors maintain the firm's study was too narrow in scope to declare the site safe for public use as playing fields or a school.

"We believe it's contaminated," said Carol Donnelly, who helped organize a meeting of 40 neighbors last week to talk about the issue.

Said neighbor Anne Kozak: "The town thought we would just go away. You can't just declare a site clean when you have no evidence of that."

Donnelly said that after reviewing GZA's report, the neighbors believe the firm did not test in areas where missile launch sites were actually located or under paved areas. She said an environmental engineer familiar with local military sites is reviewing the GZA report and other documents.

Donnelly cited a 2001 report by the Army Corps of Engineers that lists the Needham site as being contaminated. The report did not specify the contaminants.

Steve Popper, who heads the Permanent Public Building Committee, disputes arguments that testing was flawed or incomplete.

"We know exactly where the silos are. Every area on the site was tested, launch sites included," he said, calling GZA "one of the top firms" in the state.

"I think they're against us using the site as a depository for the fill there."

Popper said neighbors' complaints would not affect the high school project timeline. The project is slated to go out to bid Wednesday.

"We're not saying GZA is doing anything wrong," said Kozak. "They were tasked quite narrowly and specifically by Steve Popper to see if it was safe for fill, that's it."

Referring to a projected $6.8 million hike in the high school project's original $51.3 million price tag, Kozak said, "He has to get rid of fill because he's over budget on the high school."

Selectmen have said they may have to ask for another override vote in the spring to cover the shortfall.

Kozak said the town would save more money by disposing of much of the dirt at the town landfill, selling it to other communities, or giving it away to residents. She said dumping at the Nike site is calculated not to save the town money, but to ensure it is used for athletic fields.

Kozak said dumping the dirt now would prevent more comprehensive testing in the future, should the town decide to build a school there.

Neighbors also say school officials downplayed the impact of heavy trucks carrying fill down Pine Street, a short one-way residential road. They raised concerns about damage to the roadbed and the utility systems underneath; pedestrian and traffic safety; noise; the cost of roadwork and possible police details; and whether widening and repaving would require land takings.

"We understand the concern of neighbors of not having trucks on Pine Street," said Popper, but the "road is capable" of handling truckloads of dirt.

Popper said the town is considering having trucks use Charles River Street instead of Pine and looking into whether a police detail would be necessary.

"We feel we were deliberately left out of the equation," said Kozak. "This was brought up and voted on in two months, which is almost unheard of in Needham."

Kozak said neighbors were never notified by the School Committee or the Conservation Commission about the dumping proposal, learning about it from a neighbor who sat on the Nike Site Study Committee.

Donnelly said the neighbors would be sending letters this week to Town Meeting members and the School Committee outlining their concerns. They are also considering asking the state Department of Environmental Protection for an injunction to halt the project until an independent assessment of the site is done.

Christina Pazzanese can be reached at cpazzanese@globe.com.