$6 Million Marblehead Transfer Station Proposal Pulled From Warrant

MARBLEHEAD, MA — The Marblehead Board of Health on Tuesday night pulled two town meeting warrants requesting a $6 million override to fund a new transfer station in favor of exploring a "Plan B" proposal that could cost a third of that total but is likely to draw increased traffic to alternative access roads on Green Street and Arnold Terrace.

The so-called "Plan B" proposal is subject to a traffic study and Planning Board approval with architect Dana Weeder opening the possibility Tuesday night of further changes to the plan that could lessen the impact on the Green Street neighborhood.

The estimate for the "Plan B" proposal was set at about $1.5 million pending any increases or decreases that may come from altering the proposal as it stands. Board of Health Director Andrew Petty said that figure can be paid for without requiring a vote of town meeting members and an override vote of residents.

"The fact that we can afford Plan B without having to ask for more money," Board of Health Chair Todd Belf-Becker said, "and the fact that Plan A would be more than $6 million it seems like the fiscally responsible thing to go with B. We've said repeatedly at this meeting that approving B tonight would not (set the project details) in stone.

"By voting for B tonight I think we will really be able to flow into a much more positive plan than we even have now. We will continue to listen to neighbors. We will continue to get experts in. But I think that pledging to go forward with B is the right thing to do."

Tuesday's vote was necessary to determine whether the Board of Health would request the funds from residents in advance of the April 11 warrant meeting. The Board of Health voted to commission the traffic study so it could move forward on the Plan B adjustments as soon as possible.

About a dozen residents of the Arnold Terrace and Green Street areas spoke during the public comment of the two-hour meeting with many saying they moved to the neighborhood cognizant of the transfer station's proximity, but with no indication that their roads would ever be used for residential and commercial users of the facility.

While some expressed optimism that Weeder's proposed changes would make Plan B more tenable, the majority said they were still concerned about noise, traffic and potential health issues arising from the additional heavy use of the nearby roads.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)