Waltham Eyes Moving Public Works To Fernald Property

WALTHAM, MA — A vote on a proposed study to look into using a portion of the abandoned, city-owned Fernald property to house the city's public works department has been delayed because of what a number of city councilors are calling a misinformation campaign.

"I have grave concern that many residents have received information that at best is misleading," City Councilor John McLaughlin told the council Monday about several leaflets that insinuated the city council was fast-tracking a vote and that the move would include putting a dump on the Fernald property.

"There is no such thing as a city dump in Waltham," McLaughlin said. "There is no such thing as a transfer station in Waltham."

The public works department has been sandwiched between the police and fire headquarters on Lexington Street, where it shares a cramped parking lot, for years. Behind the office buildings there's a garage for trucks and a number of large bins where the city puts grass cuttings, brush and tree limb, the soot from street sweeping and dirt and asphalt from city jobs. It's also been utilizing space that will be turned into a proposed rail-trail.

Although the current property is about 22 acres on Lexington Street, various restrictions limit the actual area that can be used.

The Fernald Use Committee recommended the city should issue a feasibility study to determine whether the city's public works should or could move to the portion of the Fernald property that is not protected by the Community Preservation Act.

"The site that they're going to look at is off of Waverly Oaks road and trying to keep us as far away from the residents as possible, that would be the idea," Director of Consolidated Public Works Mike Chiasson said. "This is just for a study to see if this makes sense, there would still be a long process to get it approved there or anywhere, but I think it's worth looking into."

But late last week, a councilor on the Fernald Use Committee, the city council committee tasked with coming up with recommendations for how to best use the property that the city acquired in 2014, started sending fliers to neighbors about his concerns with moving the department to the Fernald property and asked them to rally against it.

In a letter with the subject "Regarding Waltham Mayor McCarthy's recent proposal to move the City's Public Works Facility, the City Dump and Transfer Station permanently to the Fernald Property in North Waltham" mailed to residents in wards 1, 3 and 4 last week, Waltham City Councilor George Darcy decried it.

"The Mayor's proposal will negatively affect your quality of life in North Waltham and will negatively affect your property values," Darcy said in a letter to residents, saying it would mean traffic, smells and noise.

Darcy said the city would be turning the land into a dump, prompting alarm from neighbors.

But the city has not had a dump or a transfer station for years, said Chiasson. Trash collected by the trash trucks goes directly to a site in North Andover.

"It's not a dump, you can't come in and dump stuff here," Chiasson said.

City Councilor George Darcy called the proposal, which was brought to the Fernald Use committee during its Nov. 2 meeting, a fast-track of the relocation of the City's Public Works Facility, Dump and Transfer Station and made six alternative proposals, including establishing a path through the Forest Street Park, introducing security and allowing neighbors to walk the site, renovating two buildings on the property to use for seniors, veteran and lower income housing. He also proposed the city lease part of the property to an organization that specializes in physical therapy on horseback for Waltham residents, students, veterans and individuals with special needs.

But discussion about the possibility of bringing CPW to Fernald has been around much longer. The city first bought the Fernald property and there was discussion about placing a police station there, City Councilor Paul Brasco proposed first finding a better place for the public works department to have more room, according to city officials. Brasco did not return request for comment.

Although neither responded to request for comment Monday, during a city council meeting Monday night McLaughlin said the information that Darcy sent to constituents is wrong.

"Residents have been shamelessly misled," McLaughlin said.

The Walter E. Fernald Developmental Center, originally called the Experimental School for Teaching and Training Idiotic Children, was a state institution that came to Waltham in the late 1800s. It grew to include 72 buildings on 196 acres. It came out in the 1970s that for decades children housed there were neglected and abused. A judge ordered changes and it prompted a transition into a center for mentally disabled adults, before it eventually closed for good in 2014.

The state sold the property to the city of Waltham that year for $3.7 million, retaining some rights to profit from future leases and with some historical preservation conditions. The city explored using the property as a police station, but the department indicated they'd rather be more centrally located. A proposal to consider developing a new high school there was shot down regarding environmental concerns. The property has sat empty since then, closed to the public.

If the city councilors approve the Fernald Use committee's recommendation it would start a site study, but is not a done deal, officials said. The city would still need to go through a lengthy process before it came to fruition, including finding funding.

"We make due with what we have," said Chiasson who has been director for the CPW for about 10 years. "This is what it is. We've made changes to utilize more area for parking, the site is closed so people can't come in.

"We have a long way to go, the proposal is just to do a study of that area of the Fernald to see if it would work," said Chiasson. "We have to see what the outcome of that is first."

If it does work, he said, he envisions it as a win for not just his department, but for the police and fire departments as they would get more space to work with.

Councilors Darcy, Cathyann Harris, Joey LaCava, LeBlanc and McLaughlin all sit on the Fernald Use Committee. Darcy, Harris and McLaughlin did not return request for comment.

Read more:

• Waltham Vandals Cause Fuel Oil Leak On Fernald Property ...
• Woerd Ave Dump Closer To Becoming 'World Class' Park ...
• Disability Advocates Protest Fernald Light Show, Citing History

Jenna Fisher is a news reporter for Patch. Got a tip? She can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a something you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how.