By Katie Farrell
Staff writer
May 07, 2008 03:29 am AMESBURY — A lingering issue before one town board will come to an end in a few weeks. The Planning Board will likely vote on whether to approve a proposal to cap the former Titcomb Pit landfill on Monday, May 19, Town Planner Nipun Jain said. The plan, filed by Waste Management, has been discussed by town officials since 2004. The trash company first filed a proposal to cap the landfill — off Route 150 near Interstate 495 — with a mound close to 100 feet high. The plan was later changed after town officials and abutters expressed a hope to see the landfill flat-capped so that the area could be reused, or perhaps even converted into athletic fields. Over the last several months, Planning Board members have raised concerns about the plan, asking about the impact on traffic and the soil testing process. Board members reopened the public hearing Monday — by doing so, it allows all of the current board members to vote on the project. "This project's been around for quite some time," Mayor Thatcher Kezer said this week. Kezer inherited the issue from Mayor David Hildt. "I'm pleased to hear it appears to be nearing getting through the approval process." Abutters to the landfill attended this week's Planning Board meeting to share concerns about what impact the 18-month construction project could have on their neighborhood. Neighbors were worried about noise, the presence of idling trucks, and dust from loose soil, member Karen Solstad said. "They raised legitimate concerns," she said. Neighbors are hoping to see barriers or screens erected to block noise or dust. Solstad, who has raised her own worries about the project in recent weeks, said yesterday she thinks the Planning Board has gotten as far as it can, although not all the questions have been answered. That is frustrating, Solstad said. "It's a little maddening" to do the work of getting the first phase underway without knowing where Phase II will take the town, she said. The town does not own the Waste Management landfill — something that would need to be addressed before it's known if athletic fields can be built at the site. A beneficial end use for the project will need to be negotiated through the mayor's office and Waste Management. Kezer said yesterday his desire is to see the site turned into athletic fields. "We definitely need more playing fields," Kezer said. The landfill is being capped at a 3 percent slope with the option to turn that into a 1 percent slope during Phase II if the town can successfully negotiate those terms with Waste Management. A 1 percent slope will be suitable for ball fields. If the town wishes to keep the site as a park, that is achieved at the 3 percent slope, the mayor said. Before those talks can start, the initial approval must be granted, the mayor said. "The important step was to get this plan approved here," Kezer said. Waste Management executives have said the host agreement they will sign with the town puts in a third layer of soil testing that is not typically seen in a capping. That includes random sampling and testing at the source site. The revised agreement will also allow for split sampling, and the town can select the truck that is sampled. Planning Board members Michael Browne, Penny Zagranis and Chairman Howard Dalton did not return phone calls yesterday.
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