EBOL Public Documents from the Chelsea Creek
Action Group East Boston Sub-committee Attending: Anna Lane, Nancei Radicchi, Lucy DelMuto, Christopher Blackler, Julia Scoppettuoli, Antonio Gambale, Lory Henning, Mary Ellen Welch, Fran Riley, Ron Jordan, Arthur Cardoza, Cheryl Gambale, Tim Smith (Boston Parks Dept.), Charlie Lord (Watershed Initiative), Deborah Kershner (NOAH), and Stacey Chacker (NOAH). Review 1/13/99 meeting minutes: Minutes were accepted. Hess: Meeting with Hess regarding site assessment on Monday, March 15th at 7:00 P.M. Pre-meeting at 5:30 P.M. to review information with consultants. If need longer meeting - 3/9. Hess to send copies of Site Assessment report on 3/1 to NOAH, Fran, Edie, Ron and consultants. Outreach: Try to get big meeting. NOAH - make flyer. Following will distribute/talk to neighbors. Anna – Condor St., Tony and Cheryl – Falcon St., Nancei – Putnam St., Lucy – E. Eagle St., Lory – Lexington St. Peer leaders (via Fran) will assist with others. NOAH - outreach in Spanish. Stacey – write press release. Nancei – take information to Mi Pueblito Restaurant. Brief visioning session for Hess Site: Participants discussed the following: What participants would love on/for this site include: * Boat launching ramp; * Pier with public boat slips; * Heritage Park; * Shops with an East Boston flavor; * Restaurant like Cool Blues; * Change of DPA zoning to allow for other uses besides marine industrial uses. What participants don’t want on this site include: * Any MassPort related business (e.g. airfreight); * Parking lots; * Housing; * Buildings. What participants believe needs more research/consideration include: * Retail/Food business; * Fish farm; * Eco-industry. Hess’ site on other side of Condor Street – not on Creek: Is a dumping ground. There’s a blue van parked there and a lot of trash from Falcon St. Idea: have Hess put up a fence and allow resident parking there; put a small park on part of it (maybe tennis court). Talk to EBCDC (who own part of this lot) – years ago, they had a design for the site – a park with benches. Comment - afraid a park would attract trouble. Participant shared that Brophy Park in Jeffries Point is a clean, safe and well-maintained public park thanks to neighbors working with City. Hess Misc.: Charlie clarified DPA (Designated Port Area) and Chapter 91, both laws governing waterfront property. If a site is non-DPA, Chapter 91 requires that 50% of property allows for public access (either inside and/or outside). If it’s DPA, not much required public access. Frank Ganta is using the sulfur docks at Hess. We should inform Hess. To find out potential value of Hess site, need to know value of other working sites along the Creek. Lory will go to Assessor’s office to do more research. Participant had idea that we should ask Hess for $ to fund a visioning session. Condor Street Urban Wild: Tim Smith (Boston Parks) handed out a fact sheet and provided the following update: Parks currently has $400,000 for clean-up of Urban Wild and BIFCO site (in Orient Heights). Will use approximately $70,000 for BIFCO site since, with help from MBTA, they will only have to pay to haul contaminated soil to Gardner St. Landfill. At Condor Street, plan to excavate 10,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil from the S.E. corner/edge and two feet over whole site. Participants questioned this since original figure was approximately 25,000 cubic yards. Tim to clarify with environmental engineer. Park Dept. ideas for site include: view platforms, strong fencing, benches, pathways, seawalls, etc. Design: Parks currently looking for $ to hire (landscape) architect. Tentative project time-line: 1) Parks hires landscape architect and community design process begins in Spring 1999. 2) Excavation -- February/March 2000; planting -- Spring 2000. City negotiating with "previous responsible party" – (past owners) to get $ to help fix-up site. Comments/Discussion: Participants requested that EB-CCAG members be allowed to help select architect from Parks Dept. short-list. Tim to look into this. Charlie to see if Boston College could provide a video survey of Urban Wild. Suggestion that City put up a big sign saying "Urban Wild to come". Tim is hesitant to put up City sign due to vandalism. Lory volunteered to clean a sign weekly. Charlie will see if E.B.H.S. students can make an artistic sign as part of Ecological Field Program. Participants asked: Can City get Central Artery/Tunnel project to donate seawalls (in Revere) for project? Can City get linkage $ for project? Other Sites: We reviewed/edited letters to be sent to: a) DPW – requesting them to clean up City yards: b) Channel Fish – complaining about maggots, traffic and odors; and c) * Boston Law Dept. requesting that the Boston Environmental Strike Team cite violations at Channel, Logan Equipment (for blocking sidewalk and dumping auto parts in Creek) and Eagle Hill Auto (for parking cars on sidewalk, open air spray painting, and dumping car fluids in storm drain). Ace Autobody seems to have no violations; they have appropriate parking in the back. CCAG information meeting/video event – The sub-committee met twice. The purpose of this event will be 1) to have the three CCAG groups meet/learn about each other; 2) inform the general public about Chelsea Creek; 3) get press for the Chelsea Creek video; and 4) serve as a kick-off meeting for the Urban Wild design process. Nancei, Lory, Mary, Fran, Stacey, and Debbie are working on this. The following others volunteered: 1) Charlie will see if we can get the E.B.H.S. students who will be involved in the Field Study Program involved; 2) Lucy will help with refreshments; 3) Fran and her peerleaders will make flyer; and 4) Debbie will go to Copley Library to look up old pictures of Chelsea Creek with Fran’s peerleaders. VI. Other: E.B. Winter Festival - NOAH will have Chelsea Creek booth. Lory, Mary and Nancei will help. Parking problem on Condor Street. Suggestion - ask for Resident Parking Only to be put in there. Decision made to change name to the East Boston Chelsea Creek Action Group. Stacey has permission to sign for Fran, Lucy, Anna, and Lory on official CCAG letters. Boat tour: On March 4th, EPA will showcase the Chelsea Creek to their Deputy Administrator, Peter Robinson on a boat tour. Fran, Lucy, Lory, Cheryl and Arthur would like to go. Mass Toxics Action Annual Conference will take place Saturday, March 27th. Stacey and Charlie will present a workshop using Chelsea Creek as a model. Nancei, Fran and Mary would like to go. Call Stacey, 569-0059 ext. 13 if you would like to go. Gardener’s Gathering -- March 27th at the Roxbury Communtiy College. A great opportunity to take gardening workshops. Call Debbie at NOAH, 569-0059 ext. 15 for more information. CCAG was honored tonight (2/10) at Environmental Diversity Forum. Tickets were $35, so Stacey did not do outreach. In future, we will send resident representative. Chelsea Greenspace and Rec. meetings – Fran and Nancei to rotate/attend when possible. Stacey passed around Chelsea and EBECC Chelsea Creek meeting minutes. Goal setting exercise: Nancei and Lory propose to postpone until we have more time. Future meeting dates: All meetings, unless otherwise noted, will take place at 6:30 at the Harborside Community Center, 312 Border Street, East Boston. Monday, March 15th -- IMPORTANT MEETING WITH HESS 7:00 P.M. Pre-meeting; 5:30 Pre-meeting. Monday, April 19th Monday, May 24th Monday, June 28th April 7th – Take a Peek At Chelsea Creek event – This will be an information meeting about the Chelsea Creek Action Group. It will also be a kick-off for the Condor Street Urban Wild park design process, and a premiere of the Chelsea Creek video. S. Chacker recorded these minutes to her best recollection. Please call 569-0059 ext. 13 to make changes within 30 days. East Boston Chelsea Creek Action Group Task meeting to plan event January 25, 1999 Attending: Mary Ellen Welch, Lory Henning, Nancei Raddichi, Stacey Chacker (NOAH). We met to plan a CCAG information meeting/video press conference, and made the following decisions. After the meeting Stacey spoke to EBECC and the Chelsea Greenspace and Recreation Committee who both agreed this was a good idea. The info meeting should be for both East Boston and Chelsea (as opposed to our original plan to do a meeting about the East Boston Sub-Committee). We should invite all three CCAG-related groups to participate and attend, as well as others. People would really like to meet those from the other groups. If all attend, we will set up tables with info about each group in different parts of the room. It would be good to put together a CCAG orientation package/brochure to clearly show what each of the CCAG groups are working on, and the relationship to each other. Lory will write information that she would like to know for orientation package. We will hold on Wednesday, March 3rd at 6:00 P.M. at xxxx, East Boston. We will have a short program (approximately 30 to 45 minutes, and then show the video. Serve snacks. We will ask all or some of following, or representatives from agencies, to speak:
We will have information about the Hess meeting, March 15th Invite press – Alan Lupo and Herald reporter (Laura Brown?), local; Stacey to bring draft press release to next meeting. Location – either Harborside or EBHS. Stacey and Nancei to look into. February 10, 1999 Attending: Mary Ellen Welch, Lory Henning, Nancei Raddichi, Fran Riley, Debbie Kershner (NOAH), and Stacey Chacker (NOAH) Decided to postpone event. Proposed date: April 7th. The purpose of this event will be 1) to have the three CCAG groups meet/learn about each other; 2) inform the general public about Chelsea Creek; 3) get press for the Chelsea Creek video; and 4) serve as a kick-off/info meeting for the Urban Wild design process, since the Parks Dept. should be starting a community design process this spring for the Urban Wild. Fran and her youth program will assist with outreach and will make a flyer for the event. Charlie will see if we can get the E.B.H.S. students who will be involved in the Field Study Program. Lucy will help with refreshments; Debbie will go to Copley Library to look up old pictures of Chelsea Creek with Fran’s peerleaders. Meeting March 1st Next steps: Stacey Chacker recorded these minutes to her best recollection. Please call 569-0059 ext. 13 to make changes within 30 days. posted on EBOL on
3/6/99 |
