Malden
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Malden Y collaborates with Everett students to provide food to needy families
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Contaminated soil shuts down Roosevelt Park By Barbara Taormina
T
By Tara Vocino
M
embers of the Builders Club and other students at the Keverian School in Everett worked with the Malden YMCA to donate food to 100 low-income families last Thursday afternoon. “The administration and
staff at the school have worked closely with community members and the Malden Y to collaborate to make sure our students and families have all the resources they need,” Assistant Principal Janet Taylor said. “The
Y supplied fresh produce, eggs, canned goods, rice and fresh fruit.” Students and YMCA staff distribute the food bags on the first and second Thursday of the month at 2:20 p.m. in the school parking lot.
Tara Vocino may be reached at printjournalist1@gmail.com.
City Council celebrates Matheson’s years of service By Barbara Taormina
C
ity Councillors took some time this week to offers thanks and well wishes to outgoing Councillor John Matheson, who has represented Ward 3 for the past eight years. “Ward 3 is lucky to have had you. You have been tenacious in fighting for your residents,” said Ward 5 Councillor Barbara Murphy, who emphasized Matheson’s long battle for safety improvements at the Highland Avenue and Fellsway East intersection and his years of work aimed at preserving the Malden Hospital site for the community. “You have held true to the oath of office you took for your citizens and the world; the city of Malden and Ward 3 is a better place because of it,” said Murphy, who then stood
John Matheson Ward 3 Councillor
up to hug Matheson. Rather than seeking another term representing Ward 3 on the City Council during this year’s election, Matheson chose to make a bid for the job of mayor of Malden. After
a long and contentious campaign season, he was defeated by incumbent Mayor Gary Christenson, who was elected to a third term. “You have been here for the last eight years and you always brought a thoughtful voice to our deliberations,” said Ward 7 Councillor Neal Anderson, who thanked Matheson for his service to the city. Councillor-at-Large Stephen Winslow also thanked Matheson for his work for the city and for being a voice for residents. “I also appreciate that you have often been on the cutting edge of things we were doing,” added Winslow. Ward 2 Councillor Paul Condon congratulated Matheson on his eight years and said his service to the city was much
CELEBRATES | SEE PAGE 10
Friday, December 20, 2019
he city closed off sections of Roosevelt Park last week after tests revealed high levels of lead in the soil. The Malden Redevelopment Authority (MRA), which is overseeing the estimated $2.6 million Roosevelt Park Improvement Project with a synthetic turf field, delivered more than 1,000 neon pink notices to Salemwood School last Thursday to alert families that elevated lead levels were found in soil within 12 inches of the ground surface. According to the notice, the outdoor classroom in the southeast corner of the park and the infield of the softball field nearest to the Salemwood School Field house present potential threats to public health, particularly to children, who can experience developmental delays, reduced cognitive function and compromised motor skills when exposed to high levels of lead. The test results were repor ted to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), which is required by the Massachusetts Contingency Plan which provides regulations and guidelines for soil remediation. Neither the city nor the MRA provided specific details about how much lead is in the soil at Roosevelt Park. However, Salemwood teacher Kathy Wright Sullivan, who has spent several years advocating for a natural grass field at Roosevelt Park, requested the results of the soil tests from MassDEP. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has set 400 parts per million as an acceptable level of lead in soil in play areas for children. Results from some of the soil samples taken at Roosevelt Park last month show lead levels of 539, 542, 678, 756 and 1,050 parts per million. “In a nutshell, anything over 400 ppm is dangerous for children to come in contact with,” said Sullivan, who
called the situation at Salemwood “truly unacceptable.” The lion’s share of the cost for the Roosevelt Park Improvement Project, or roughly $2 million, is being picked up by the city’s Community Preservation Fund. A state grant and a private donation will cover the roughly $610,000 needed for the artificial turf field. The MRA application to the Community Preservation Committee describes Roosevelt Park as having a thin layer of topsoil over a foundation of urban fill, a mix of out-of-town rubble and dirt and materials such as glass, asphalt, coal, wood ash and coal ash. Preliminary soil tests at the park showed no concentrations of chemicals or metals required attention. However, the application does state that more soil tests would be needed. Sullivan and other memb e r s o f t h e S a l e mwo o d School community find it difficult to accept that more soil testing wasn’t done at the site back in 1999 when S a l e mwo o d S c h o o l f i r s t opened. As Sullivan pointed out, students have been playing in the park and digging in the dirt for the past 20 years. Sullivan and others feel the park should be thoroughly excavated and restored with natural materials and grass rather than covered with layers of plastic turf and chemically-treated infill that they fear may trigger health problems and injuries. For them, the field at Roosevelt Park is a matter of environmental justice. Still, city officials and residents who support the synthetic tur f because of its durability and low maintenance believe it’s the best remedy for Roosevelt Park’s contaminated soil. The first 12 to 15 inches of topsoil and fill will be removed and replaced by a multilayered synthetic field that acts as a barrier that keeps any remaining lead buried in the ground.