We could have >> view left my drink here last night. I was so glasses all day. >> Oh no, my computer glasses. They're in a brow case. They're somewhere between >> three and four. Not seen. >> Yeah. No, I didn't have one here
yesterday. All right. Shall we call ourselves to order for the select board meeting today, uh, April 14th, 2026? Um so to review the agenda um we have our
our public comment and then our general business is to approve minutes from two of our meetings April 8th and April 13th um to sign letter of receipt for the Ammerst Regional School District acknowledging their borrowing authorization
um to sign contract uh renewal with Haley Bolton as TA. um review and approve the May 9th um meeting warrant and um at approximately five o'clock the Army Corps of Engineers will give us uh
information about the ongoing project at the former Air Force terminal high frequency um facil range facility down at 032 and then administrator report. Is
is there anything that has um occurred in the last 48 hours that we unanticipated? >> Um >> no, I don't think so. >> Uh Rita and Eric, are you okay with those? >> Yes. >> Okay. Yep. >> So, um let's open it up for public
comment. So, in the room, if you have public comment, can you raise stand feature? And then also in the also on camera, please do your raise feature. >> We're in the room. Yeah. I'm speaking, right? Um, if so, if there's any public comment, just raise your hand.
I'm not seeing any. Everybody's in. Okay. Um, so let's go to our first piece of business, which is to approve the minutes for April 8th and 13th. Do I hear a motion?
>> I'll hear I make a motion to approve the minutes for April 8th, 2026. >> Second. Um any edits or >> okay? Not by me. >> Okay. Not by me either. So all those in favor I
>> stuck right. >> Big piece of meal. I um do I hear a motion to approve the April 13th minutes? So moved. >> Second. >> All right. Um any edits on those? >> Okay. All those in favor? Carol I.
>> Dr. IP I. Um and then the next item is to sign the letter of receipt um uh to acknowledge the Ammeris Regional School District borrowing authorization to fund capital
plan projects. So we have the letter here and we just So this is kind of an annual annual thing. Yep. Um Yep. So, we're just acknowledging we are in
receipt. Doesn't necessarily mean we agree with it, but we acknowledge receipt is what they're asking. >> Um, do I hear a motion to sign the um
the receipt for the letter um for the Ammeris Regional School System? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Right. All those in favor? >> Carol I. It's dark, right? >> A piece of Neil eye. Give me one second to sign it.
Thank you. All right. And then the next item is a contract that we negotiated with Haley. Um and we have come to an agreement. So um we would like to sign
that and thank you for signing ahead. Um do I hear a motion to sign the renewed three-year contract for our town administrator, Gayy Bulpic? Make a motion that we execute the three-year contract with Haley Baldwin.
>> Okay. >> Town administrator. Okay. >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> Barl. I >> take O'Neal. I >> take a moment to sign them. So, we have two copies, one for her and one for the champ.
Haley, where are contracts being kept now? I know that's been an issue in the past. >> So, we have the personnel folder and then I give contra um copies to the treasurer and accountants. Okay. So, they so it's um it's personnel contracts
and then all other contracts are kept by either well in my office and then I always like to give a copy to Gail so that someone else. >> Okay. So they're all kind of in one place and easily. >> I do most of them on the computer now,
but there's a few holdovers that I have paper copies of. >> And then do you have um have we gotten like an inventory of all like older contracts that are still in existence or I mean
>> um there Gabe had created a special folder of all the ones that were like started during her tenure. So I have that and then preceding that I kind of juggle between the the email inbox and >> paper copies. >> Okay. All right. Great. Thank you.
>> I just know that at some points when we were looking for contracts there wasn't a kind of centralized location. So >> is And what about backups for all that stuff? I know that's that's bad word to use in tech. >> Like what do you mean? Well, the
building burns down and all the contracts get are >> so scanned. >> Yeah. So, I have obviously there's the hard drive on my computer, but then I also have an external hard drive. So, I back up at least weekly sometimes like every other day all the files on my computer to that. So, I always have like
ready to go plug and play. >> Um the paper ones that's you know they're in filing cabinets, metal cabinets. >> Yeah. So, >> and the ones that are scanned are s the signed ones. So, yeah. Right.
>> Is there sense that Gail's stuff is all backed up that way, too? Then she has >> No, like our accountant. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Um >> or I mean the >> basically it's like you know it's >> so a lot of a lot of what she processes goes through the radar system. So
there's that digital record of it as well. But I could ask her I've never asked her specifically what's your favorite method? >> Yeah. Good point to ask. Thank you. Yeah. >> Well, I know once we did a couple remember we did a few years ago. Why we did have a problem. It was some kind of
I can't remember what it was, but remember? >> Yes. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> I mean, like I said, a good rule with them is just always give the account a copy so that >> they've got it right. >> You know, she'll end up using it just as often probably. So, >> Right. Right. Right. Right. >> That's a very good point.
Um so we need to review the May 9th warrant. We voted on most of this the other night um Wednesday and there was one article for the data centers that
was removed completely if I read that correctly um earlier today >> which means we have one last smart article. >> So that that was article was it 24 material? >> Yes. Okay. Yeah, >> but that's totally off.
>> So, everything's reordered. >> Now, we have 33 articles in total. >> Okay. >> Perfect. >> So, >> there was nothing else that we left that we didn't go through. We went through all the >> everything that was there, including that one, but it was >> Okay. Can I just Can I just scan it
because I didn't have a chance to do it. >> Um, just wanted to make sure. I know there were a couple of corrections. Yep. And we got the um uh the memo from um
>> um on the signature page. Yeah, Brandon, you're in your office, right? >> Sure am. >> Um, on page 17, can you just make one change that says on this 14th day of April and then just reprint that so the
select board can sign it? >> Yeah, we don't want to fast forward to May >> after town meeting day >> and then he'll bring that down. You can sign it. >> Thank you. And this the formatting looks very good. Thank you. >> Yes, it does. >> Yeah, it does. Looks great.
>> Um, and in terms of the constable, have we figured that out yet? >> One of the many hats Matteo is wearing this season. >> Deputy constable. >> All right. >> As a registered voter and upstanding character in town, um, would like to
have you appoint him. So, >> you didn't talk to me, though. You got a cowboy hat you can wear and stuff. >> Badge. A badge. >> Badge. >> Constable badge. >> Yeah, we can deputize you. >> So, do we have to put I mean, is he the constable or is he the acting constable
or I mean do we need to >> deputy >> deputy? Okay. So, what does it need to say? Deputy or >> Yeah. Oh, well that maybe should >> just throw it out. >> I don't know if it makes a difference,
but um when we did the election warrant, Donna had said that even though at the time it was going to be deputy constable signing it, she said to use constable. >> Oh, okay. Sorry. >> Great. Change it. Okay. Great. Yes. Because
still the same office, >> right? >> Yeah. Great. Okay. Okay, good. So, I'll make a motion that we with that um one change to the 14th day of April um as the on the signature page um that we um
approve the 2026 annual town meeting warrant as presented. >> Second. Okay. All those in favor? Daryl I. >> Stalker I. >> Big piece O'Neal I. Okay. Hey, Emmy. Let's move your man
your report a little bit. >> I see. >> Sure. >> While we're waiting for the >> So, the appointment was one of the items on my list. Um, and >> we have to vote on that or >> No, didn't you just do that >> on the as Yeah. >> Well, do we have to vote on him as the
constable or We voted on the warrant. >> Oh, yeah. So, please vote to appoint him as >> Okay. I'll make a motion to appoint Matteo Pangalo as the deputy >> deputy constable for the town of Shootsberry. >> Second. >> All those in favor? Frell. I
>> All right. >> Congratulations. >> Thank you. >> Thank you, Matteo. We'll we'll be sending you a lot of thank you letters. >> Your appointment's over. Um, and then so just other I know that you had the emergency management uh meeting
yesterday, but just to go go over again um you know the the barrels are still present at the school. There's not been an update on that and that's just because there's still some testing that has to happen. Um you know and and of course there's that pragmatic concern of you know would you get rid of some of the barrels and why would you get rid of
some of them if they're not all available? Do you stage them such that you dispose of them per barrel or do you put the barrels into a bigger container? So, there's some logistical components that deal with that. >> Um, but you know, I said this to the school and I'll reiterate it again, the
barrels are sealed. So, even though they, you know, they say hazardous material, they don't look, you know, they're not the nicest site to be greeted with when you drive in the school, but they are safe, you know. So is there any kind of um notification before town meeting? I just you know I
had mentioned it last night like is there any issue with people you know parking around there or >> people shouldn't like yeah I mean it >> playing near there shouldn't be you know going over there obviously like if the seal is only so good as if the barrel
you know doesn't get tipped over right in that. >> Does it have yellow tape or anything around that? does have the yellow tape and parents have been driving around them. I mean I when I've picked up my nephew I mean they're there you just drive around the they're on the island so they're not in the road, >> right?
>> So should we just like acknowledge it and either in the school newsletter or has it already has she already covered that? >> It has. Um we've you know we've certainly put that out in a few like notices to the town. Um, I can we had a meeting, Frank McInn and I and uh
Matthew Warner from Ty Bond. We stressed, you know, the urgency, >> right? >> Um, but I will check in with him again to see how much more time they think might need to elapse before they're going to be >> put that in a Friday five figure thing because that
>> Yeah, like a pre-Town meeting like you're going to see a special edition. Don't be alarmed. It's >> being dealt with, right? because you are you are you know addressing that but >> might be something >> ask people not to
>> play around and and the more you repeat it the more >> we can definitely do that I can definitely do like a special before the election or >> before one but um so that >> maybe it's just a yeah maybe it's just one about town meeting remember this
remember that >> um by the way you might see these >> yeah by the way as you drive in you Don't don't try to cross the meeting. I try to cross the circuit. >> No, don't do that. >> A little disconcerting if you walk in. You don't have if you didn't know anything.
>> If you didn't know, you don't know. Yeah. If you haven't seen any previous communications, it would definitely be jarring, right? >> Um but I can say, you know, again, um all the remediation costs, those are covered by our insurance. So that's that 10K deductible that we had talked about
earlier. Um and then repair costs to the actual oil tank itself. Those are expenses that the town will be um has incurred and will have to spend. Thank you. >> Thanks. >> And so his letter is for his
appointment. Yeah. >> Thank you. >> Um and so essentially where we're at, we're thinking about some short-term solutions to the tank. So that's repricing the gasket. Um that's resealing the tank and getting the alarm
sensor activated again. Right. So those will help us, you know, just kind of keep an eye on the current situation. And then um I think D and the um LSPs, I think they have a 120day window within which they need to provide us a report. So we don't have those bits yet. That's
what'll help us make that long-term decision about what we want to do next. Um in terms of, you know, do we want to do we want to take the tank out and maybe do an above ground tank? Do we want to look at deep pumps? Um but in the meantime, you know, th those are the
three things that we're looking at and we're not um not really in a position yet to move forward on those until all the testing is done. They want to see more about like where the leaks are if there are any more, right? Because we don't know that for certain.
>> Frank mentioned a May 11th date. I'm trying to heed. Yeah, May 11th is our 60-day mark. So that's the first report to D will be due. >> Okay. Um, so we've still got a little bit of time before then and hopefully we'll have more word from Tai and Bond because that'll be used for the report.
>> Yes. >> I think I was going to say something else, but >> sorry. Um, but yeah, so that that's where we're going to do some additional testing and just to confirm everything. >> Do you have any estimate on what the
repair um piece of this is going to cost? >> No, not yet. Well, based on what Frank said last night, it sounded like >> the repair well the the alarm system was pretty high, >> right? >> And we're bandating whatever we decide to
do. >> Mhm. >> More definitely more of a solutionoriented position probably. >> The alarm system is the most like intricate >> right, >> right? I think that was like $25,000. >> Definitely said it. Um, and I know Frank
said this yesterday, but just to reiterate, so we have asked Western Mass Environmental to take over the monitoring of the tank. So that way we can ensure that, you know, whatever else happens, we have professional eyes on it. Sure that, you know, there's to make another call to DP, we can do that.
>> And and whose budget does that get incorporated into? >> I mean, I would my understanding is we would pull that out of just town building. Um, you know, I don't think that we this I know the school between the boiler costs that they've also been dealing with, they're pretty much at
capacity in terms of maintenance >> and this would be an ongoing I mean this would be an expense in this new fiscal year too. So I I just was asking because >> No, I think it's a good question. Yeah. No, and I think it goes back to conversations we've had where, you know,
do we have an assessment of our maintenance needs and are we putting enough money aside for >> routine maintenance and preventative maintenance, >> right? >> Is this something that would fall under us declaring an emergency and be able to use something that line to overspend
because it is a bit of an emergency. Um I will double check on that. I know >> at least at this point >> we had thought that I think early in the stages of doing that in the same way that we did for the dam repair. Um I believe what we had decided at that time was since the insurance was covering it,
we weren't going to go that route because that would have with them covering their remediation cost that saves the town money like a considerable amount. >> Um >> okay. So that's the school. So, it's, you know, I don't want to say hurry up and wait, but there is some more work
that needs to be done before things can be taken off site and we can start making those repairs. Um, but it is like active. You know, Ty bond is out there a couple times a week. So, it's not, you know, someone is paying attention >> and it's not currently leaking, right? The the the tight test worked. It didn't
leak. We did pass that >> the tight test. >> So, this is just we want to make really sure, you know, where it's underneath the ground and obviously you can't see it. So, we just want to make sure that we really have a complete understanding of the process. Um, and then pivoting to
the dam. So, we have contractors on site. Um, I was at a site meeting. I can't believe that was yesterday. Um, but um, so they're ready to work. They're going to work. They anticipate that within the next two weeks that it'll be repaired. And so, and by
repair, I mean that they will have installed a new trash rack. they um they're doing some additional work and I would probably need my engineers to really speak to the intricacy of it but um just looking at how the water flows you know the next two weeks is really
about how does the water flow and what are the areas of concern where is it going that we don't want it to go and how do we make it so that it flows where we do want it to go um you know in very lay terms that's what's happening um and then so after that repair work is done.
So that will hopefully get us out of that unsafe does that poor designation, you know, unsafe and get us back up where we had been prior to um the discovery of the sink holes back in November. Um and then there'll be some
assessment period following that repair work, right? So if folks are expecting the trash racks in the lakes going to go right back up, that's not going to happen. Um you know just to be realistic and be honest with people there will be some time where we have to see is this having the effect that we want you know
is it fixing the issue that was you know that we needed to address and if it does then that's great and we can gradually um raise that water. Well, Lenny was talking, I guess, for about an inch and a half day or >> um I don't think that the engineering firm or contractors have said anything
specific. Okay. Um yeah, that might be just like a ballpark to kind of help you visualize, >> but it'll but just, you know, it' be incremental, >> right? >> So, um between Elwack and Lakeola Association, I don't know, do they do
regular communications? I mean just getting the word out to people around the lake, >> you know, kind of a targeted um message is that >> that's it's certainly doable. Um and I think that can take more shape once
they've finished and once we kind of have a sense, you know, >> it would be good just to to give an update and I don't know if anybody's planning. So let's see when how many weeks till town meeting is it? We're April 14th. So a town meeting, we'll
know, right? Yeah. So if something goes out before town meeting and then a town meeting, >> um I think on these on these big things, I think there should be >> kind of an an update at the beginning of town meeting. Um
>> you know, part of it is finding that balance of you don't want to tell people too far out that then they're just worried, >> right? >> But we want to give, you know, an accurate assessment, >> enough information. >> Yeah. So we're now is kind of like we're starting to say, hey, this is the process, you know, have boots on the
ground. So now we can confirm that, you know, this is when we anticipate the repairs happening and these are the next steps. So >> So I'm trying to remember last year um so there was a there was a a time for
reports from boards and >> it's usually in the beginning. It's usually >> at the beginning >> and then who would if we were going to do something would that be something from the select board then >> about the dam >> about the dam and also about the um the
school I you know maybe it's somebody else we don't necessarily have to do it I but I'm just wondering if it makes more sense for >> you or from one of us. Yeah, I mean I can definitely put that in together. >> Yeah, we can focus on >> Yeah,
>> I think Yeah, it's important. >> I just Yeah, again kind of on >> you have to repeat things. So you send to me four people can really because I mean I need to hear it multiple times. I heard it tonight. You want me to hear it again tonight? You know it.
>> It's really a lot typical stuff too. >> Yeah. This is not It's not a simple walk in the park. These are things that have a lot of moving parts. Uh >> literally figuratively. Yes. Yeah. Okay. So, that was hand
to that little thing. >> Oh, sure. Um, so I was able to connect with the abutters and um, yeah, I think we had a a good understanding kind of where we are, where we need to be. Um, one of the things that they had kind of
suggested that maybe the town could look at um because we do own a section of that land with where the dam access is. Yeah, I don't have the parcel number in front of me, but um you know, so could we put in like a an actual path, you
know, instead of it just being dirt, you know, put in a path and maybe some kind of like fencing just to kind of make it so that this is what the town has and this is what the abut I think as you'll >> Yeah. >> And I thought that was a pretty >> property line. Yeah. Yeah.
>> Yeah. It seemed like a pretty good way to solve the problem if you will. >> Yeah. >> An encroachment either by us or by >> Yeah. Right. No. >> You know, and then that way, you know, I mean, obviously I think Howie knows his stuff, but if there ever was another DMER, if someone else had to access the lake, that can help clear of this is
where you need to go. >> Yeah. >> Okay. So that um so that's then and then so basically timeline timeline for them is you know I I said I'd let them know you know talk with all of you um and then I'm hoping that you know once the repair work is done
you know maybe if they're back in town we could just take a walk >> you know at least one of you myself and them just to kind of >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Uh and do something like that or you know we can obviously adjust that plan if needed but that's the most flexible
option. is it your um assessment that that you think we need to get some sort of easement across their land or that we will have that there'll be sufficient >> for anything like because when we do more sign if we have to do more
significant repairs is it bigger equipment therefore necessitating >> that's a factor to consider based on the title review that we had done I think that it's what we have is sufficient um you know I'm I'm not a heavy machinery expert. So there may be and I think they
had also alluded to the fact that you know there might be a time when >> that needs to be readjusted based on the size of the equipment but generally speaking we have enough with what is oursum to >> how wide is it >> 20 ft or
>> um >> they were bringing you know what was machine really bringing >> you remember it was some sort of excavator. Yeah, that's it. So, yeah, the tracks. So, um I think that's at least that's going to be at least 11 feet wide. So, there's certainly
whatever. Yeah, >> I can double check the just >> Yeah, it's just, you know, for future reference just thinking ahead because they may use a crane or something, you know, >> that has feet, >> you know, they've got to be able to move rocks and sand and and all that kind of
stuff. So, >> um, yeah, >> you should finish before I >> um I think so. Yeah, those are the big things. Mostly everything else is just getting ready for town meeting and just keeping tabs on these big projects. Um,
yeah. All right. There's someone here. Um, Mary Lou, go ahead. >> Hi, Mary Lou Kanka. Um, I just have a question about attendance. Um this evening I'm seeing on the board that there's a J N and I'm curious if that
person can you know properly identify themsself. Thank you. >> If it's John Wallace >> possibly but we actually can't um there is actually no Mary Lou unfortunately or unfortunately fortunately however you
want to think of it. Um there's no requirement that participants identify themselves. Um, we can ask that someone identify themselves when they're speaking. Um, but not if they're simply in attendance in the waiting in front of the >> the Zoom room.
>> That's curious. Thank you. >> Okay. Um, so we're now kind of we are at five o'clock. Yeah. That our Army Corps of Engineers. Um, >> they're coming in person, right? >> They're here. >> We're here.
>> All right. Yeah, I think we signed a mark, didn't we? >> Yes, we did. It went around. I know. Right there, Eric. It's in front of the house. >> No, >> no, no. It went around. I don't have it. >> I signed it. >> We We signed >> And I handed it forward.
>> Uh, do I have it? >> Nope. Not me. >> This is what I do all the time. Stuff on my desk while I'm working. Um, >> can I hand it back? >> And the the last page appointment. >> Oh, find it
>> because it's just the page. >> It's >> Yeah, I'll find it. Okay. Yeah. Do you need it? >> I didn't post it. >> Okay. >> And she'll need a copy of it because it has to go out that way. >> Okay. >> Thanks, Matt. >> Thank you. Sorry about that.
>> Okay. Okay. Uh, hi. Um we will um so for for anyone who is not um followed this the at lot 032 we do have we did have a um former air force terminal VHF um
range facility um radio tower and so there had been um some equipment that needed to be removed and and there was a gas leak in the Army Corps of Engineers had taken it over and
right now they've come to give us an update on that ongoing project. So, um, can I turn it over to you to give us your update? >> Yes, you can. >> Okay. Oh, thank you. >> I can. Hi. Hi, everybody. I'm gonna kick
us off today. Uh, my name is Grace Carmichael from the Army Corps of Engineers. I am the project manager for the the library site. Um we might have some other folks from the army corps join us as the meeting goes but they might be a
little bit late. Um so we are here to present the results from the July August 2025 investigation at parcel032 or the new library site and we're going to talk about our investigation and our
planned path forward. So I'm from here I'm going to turn things over to Travis Williamson, the PM for Tidewater, who is one of the contractors for the Army Corps performing the work. >> Okay, thanks Grace. Um before I get going, can can you all just confirm that
you're able to see my screen? It's a cover slide that has the title and a and a map on it. >> Yes. >> Y >> Okay, perfect. All right. And and I'm I'm assuming I'm coming through loud and clear. Your your audio is amazing. I wanted to compliment you on it, by the way. It's impressive.
>> Thank you. Thank you. >> Okay. All right. So, um, as Grace indicated, my name is Travis Williamson. I am an environmental engineer and project manager with Tidewater. And, uh, we are the environmental contractor
that's been supporting the Cong uh, the the Army Corps of Engineers in planning and executing some investigation activities last year. Um, so before I get into the slides, I wanted to actually use this one to just orient
everyone. I'm I'm sure everybody knows uh sort of where we're talking about, but just to make sure. Um, so parcel 032 is outlined here with this red um boundary. Can can you tell me are you able to see my cursor as I move it over
the screen or not? >> Yes. >> Yeah. >> Perfect. Okay. So that's the uh that's the property boundary for parcel 032. Uh the nice new beautiful library that you all have there is shown here in this
green hatched area. Uh the address is 66 Leverit Road. Um and the area that we focused uh all the investigation activities that we're going to talk about tonight uh were were further down to the south on that parcel. Uh you see
this pink dot here. That pink dot represents a concrete pad that was installed back in the early 60s when the radar facility went in and is actually still there today. So, I just want to uh
point that out to everyone um because you'll see it pop up in some pictures and on some figures and I think it just helps get every get your bearings. Um so uh you know the library facilities up here in the green hatched and area and then as you move further to the south
you sort of transition into a wooded area. Um you know looking at the the zoning classifications there in the town. This is a in the southern portion of this boundary. It's forest conservation. Um, so there's this path
shown in yellow that we were able to use to get back into the area um and get access to the various sampling locations that we wanted to collect some data at. Um, so just an overview of of really,
you know, why we're here tonight. Um we we want to give you an update on the activities that the Army Corps of Engineers has conducted at parcel 032. Um we want to share the results from investigations that were performed last
July and August. Um and and the main objectives of those investigations were first and foremost to delineate the nature and extent of petroleum contamination around a former underground storage tank. uh and in the
process of uh being out there also collecting some updated surveying data for all of uh the sampling locations and the well locations so that when we collected and um depth to groundwater measurements we were sure to be able to
map and understand the groundwater flow direction in the area. Um we're going to talk about the fact that uh the local drinking water is is protected and there's no complete pathways between the underground storage
tank petroleum constituents and local drinking water and then talk about the path forward at the at the site. Um and as I indicated here's the pink dot. This is the concrete pad um that was part of
the radar facility. And in the next slide, you're going to see some pictures where the former US essentially was located right here. And there's some pictures of it being removed back in 1994
um along with uh soil that was around that underground storage tank. So, a little bit of history. Um, the the US government uh established a lease for partial 032 in 1957.
And then between 1960 and 1962, the Air Force constructed the concrete pad that had a tower on it. Uh there was an emergency power unit shelter associated with the radar facility and
then a 275 gasoline underground storage tank that you can actually see in these bottom two pictures that supplied fuel to that emergency power unit. Um the facility was done and constructed
in 1962. It operated until 1967. At that point, the lease expired and wasn't renewed. Um, and between 1967 and 1972, the the facility was um dismantled
and removed. Uh, and the and the area essentially left to re vegetate on its own naturally. Um, between 1972 and 1994, I don't know that there was really much going on out
there. Uh, but then in 1994, you see these pictures where uh the underground storage tank was removed on September 14th. And then a couple weeks later, there were uh soils excavated from
around where the tank cavity was, where the tank was removed. In all, there was about a hundred tons of soil excavated from the area. Uh, which would, you know, on a a typical uh truck would probably be somewhere between five and
seven truckloads of soil that was um excavated and and hauled out of the area. Um, in 2004, the town of Shutesbury uh acquired property ownership. And then in 2021, there were some
sampling activities being carried out within throughout at the parcel in support of the new library project. And there was a sampling location uh located near the the former US where
there was a soil sample collected um that returned a result of petroleum constituents that equaled a a a level that that state notifications required to the Massachusetts Department
of Environmental Protection. So when that soil sample came back and and the result equaled the notification criteria, notifications were made um various steps were carried out and a release tracking number that you can see
here on this slide uh was assigned by mass DP. There were some there were some additional investigations primarily focused on groundwater that were carried out in 2022 and 23. >> Um and then in May of 2024, the Army
Corps of Engineers uh issued a contract to plan and implement the the investigation activities that we're here to uh present to you tonight. again primarily focused on defining the exact boundary of petroleum constituents in
this area. Uh this slide provides an overview of the different types of sampling that we conducted as part of the investigation. Uh so the first thing we did was we implemented something we call high
resolution screening high res high resolution site characterization which consists of a couple of um technical terms and and devices um that that are used. So membrane interface probe and a hydraulic
profiling tool um are essentially uh devices that you can use with a geop probe which is shown in this bottom left figure where you've got cables and and and probes on these
rods as they advance from ground surface down to the terminal depth collecting information to determine are there petroleum constituents in the soil. or groundwater at these at these locations and if so at what intervals at what
depths. Um so we wanted to go out and and just collect this this information to get a good handle on okay where are we seeing petroleum constituents and where aren't we seeing con petroleum constituents and then we you we use that
data to guide next steps in the investigation. Um, so we used it to identify where we wanted to locate 16 soil borings. Uh, and the next slide will show you a map of where all of
these sampling locations were placed. Um, so we advanced 16 soil borings. We collected a total of 37 soil samples from from those 16 borings. Uh we also installed seven new groundwater monitoring wells which led
to the network that exists out there to now be 15. Uh there were eight existing monitoring wells that had been installed between 2021 and 2023. Uh and and then we collected groundwater
samples from all 15 well locations. Um the you know the the vertical extent of the sampling that we conducted was from the ground surface down to uh apparent bedrock of the deepest sampling
location we had was 23 ft which was the location right within that cavity where the US the underground storage tank was removed. So, the the you know, the quote unquote source area location. Uh, like I said, this is a map. Uh, I
don't expect you to necessarily be able to discern all of these different types of locations. It's really just, you know, showing everything on a map where we have the we have the concrete pad. The US was located just south of it. And
um we have a total of 19 membrane interface probe locations. They're shown with the black dots and the white labels. Uh we have the 16 soil borings which are the um they're they're really small
black dots with some white around them and the white labels. Uh and then the 15 monitoring well locations are shown with the blue dots and the blue labels. Um this these sampling locations are in
addition to some soil sample borings that were advanced between 2021 and 2023 um around the former underground storage tank um and and the the groundwater samples that were collected previously.
Um and I as I indicated on the last slide the depth of our sampling was from ground surface down to 23 feet. the depth of previous sampling was between seven and 13 feet. Um, and really, you know, take-home point on this slide is
just the fact that there have been a lot of samples collected in and around this former US location to get a handle on where is there petroleum contamination and and more importantly, where isn't their petroleum contamination.
Uh I indicated one of the objectives that we wanted to meet was to make sure we understand groundwater flow direction. Uh so the way that we did that was we got updated survey information for all of the groundwater monitoring wells. So we knew exactly
what the elevation of each of those wells was. We measured the distance or the depth between the top of each of those wells down to the water, the groundwater. so that we knew what the elevation of the groundwater was. And
you essentially use those measurements at these 15 actually um eight uh there are a couple other wells that were installed um historically to support some groundwater investigations.
We took water levels there as well. Um this anyway we we use the groundwater elevation data to map out the elevation of groundwater which represents which direction will it flow. So, um, this is essentially a a contour map where
similar to the topography out there, we're sort of up on a hill or a, you know, an elevated area is where this radar facility was constructed and the groundwater elevation data suggests a radial flow pattern away from the top of
that hill. Um, there is some indication of a a more dominant southeasterly flow direction. um based on the topography out there and uh the the data that's been collected. Um
but you know, we use this information to just make sure that we know where we need to be looking for petroleum impacts relative to the former source area. Moving on to the soil results. Um
overall soil was not there there really was not very much detected in soil. Um and the impacts were minimal. Um we didn't have any petroleum odors or observe any staining in surface soils that we collected from the 16 soil
borings. Um there was one sample in the 37 where there was a single chemical in a sample detected above the Massachusetts contingency plan's
most conservative standard. Um the chemical is called methyl tertiary bud ether. Um, it's an additive that was uh was added to gasoline back in the the
70s to lead it to burn cleaner to uh cut down on potential air pollution. Um, anyway, it was detected in a the soil sample from the boring right there where the old tank was located in at 0 to 3 ft. there was a concentration of MTB at
0.12 mg per kilogram which is slightly above the criteria of 0.1 uh milligrams per kilogram. Um there was a 20 to 23 foot soil sample
collected at that same location deep where there were no detections of anything you know showing that there's no downward migration or movement of the petroleum any petroleum constituents in the source area. Um, and there were no
other exceedences of any of the MCP criteria in any of the other soil samples that we collected and analyzed during the investigation. Um, so the the main takeaway there is really there's there's no source of contamination in soil that could lead to
any additional spread or further impacts to groundwater in the area. So that's soil. Moving on onto groundwater. Um, so there's more groundwater data and um I don't expect you to be able to see these numbers or see the names of these
chemicals. Uh it's really >> just um a representation of all of the groundwater data and you know the loca the three locations that are shown in red slightly south and southeast of the
former underground storage tank are the the only locations that we detected any concentrations in uh groundwater above the Massachusetts contingency plan GW1 criteria which are the criteria that get
applied to drinking water. Um so those uh you can see the the shading in red. Those those are the chemicals um where there were any exceedences and and they're you know in this localized area
of the former underground storage tank for those wells that had been sampled previously in 2022 or 2023. You see the tables are a little bit wider because there's more data points, more samples have been collected over
time. And uh when we look at the concentrations over time, we see that the concentrations are either stable or decreasing over time. Uh which is good. It means there's no continuing source that's feeding groundwater that's
leading to fluctuating or increasing concentrations. Um, and then outside of that 45 foot area to the south and southeast, we didn't detect any concentrations in
groundwater that were uh above the GW1 criteria. Uh, and that that includes locations that are sort of in in this vicinity around the US and then further away um to the north and and and uh other
directions around the area. >> Um so the you know the the the HPT data, the soil data and the groundwater data >> um you know all point to that there's no impacts to local ground local drinking
water. uh be anticipated from the historical DoD activities. Um the site is classified as a potential drinking water source area and that's you know that means that we are applying and comparing the data to the the most
protective GW1 criteria. Uh and that's what the the tables on that previous slide are doing. And then um the you know the the nearest um water supply wells. So
there's there's wells located uh along Pelum Hill Road and then there's a well associated with the new library that are ranging between 600 and 950 ft away from the former underground storage tank. Um
so the nearest wells a little over 600 ft away. um you know the the impacts that we detected in soil and groundwater are within 45 ft of the former underground storage tank and then the the the petroleum constituents that we
detected are in soil and groundwater between 0 and 20 ft. Um while the you know drinking water wells in the area are drawing water from depths of 300 to 600 ft below ground surface so quite a
bit deeper. Um, you know, our conclusion of of all of this information is that there's no complete pathways between, you know, petroleum impact impacts from the former underground storage tank and local drinking water.
>> Um, but we do want to to go out and I'll I'll present on this slide. We want to we want to collect one more quantitative data point in in a in a location to the northwest of the former US between the a
monitoring wall 14 and monitoring wall 15. We have some myth HPT locations out here that did not show the presence of any petroleum hydrocarbons and soil or groundwater in this area.
Um, but just to be certain, uh, the Army Corps does plan to install one more well and to sample that well along with all of the other wells again to provide a quantitative data point formally
documenting that there's no petroleum hydrocarbons at that location above GW1 criteria and that what we saw last year which was um you know if to GW1 exceedences are
localized and near the former underground storage tank in this area and and not outside that that immediate localized area from the former US. So this leads us we just got a couple more slides. The next slide I'm going to hand over to Grace talks about the path
forward and then we've just got one more slide um wrapping everything up and then we'll open it up for questions discussion. Grace. >> Yeah, thanks Travis. Uh, so as Travis discussed on the last slide, we plan to
install an additional monitoring well uh likely later this year. And around the same time, we will perform an additional round of groundwater sampling on six the 16 well network, which will include the newly installed well.
And we're going to use the data that we collect to update the recent field report that was uploaded for the site under under EDP on the Massachusetts website as well as to update the risk evaluation for the site. And just to
reiterate a point Travis made earlier, the existing data indicates there is likely no risk. However, we are going to install this additional monitoring well to confirm that uh to confirm that M.Y.I.P. data and confirm there are no petroleum petroleum
impacts in that area. Uh so following that there are two possible paths forward that depend on the data we plan to collect from the new well later this year uh as well as the results of that updated risk evaluation.
So the formerly used defense site program which is the uh the army corps program this work is conducted under requires risk to be present for petroleum sites to be eligible for the formerly used defense site or fuds program. Uh so if this new data
indicates there is no risk that means the site would no longer be eligible for the the FUDs program and if that's the case the site would be closed out under the Army Corps formerly used defense site program and it would follow then it
would be up to the state program to determine how the site proceeds. Uh the other path path forward uh if the data that we collect from this newly installed monitoring well later this year indicates there is still a risk then the Army Corps would continue with
the Massachusetts contingency program uh process. So the state program yeah I'll turn it back over to Travis. All right. And just just briefly um so just summary of our findings, key takeaways um regarding site
characterization. The site is we mostly characterized. The reason we didn't say fully characterized is we're going to >> we're going to put that one more well in. Um but the it's mostly characterized. The data shows that groundwater concentrations are stable to decreasing over time. Uh I've talked uh
a couple of times about the localized impacts and the fact that petroleum impacts are confined to this small area of 45 ft in the immediate vicinity of the former underground storage tank. Um there's no threat anticipated to local
drinking water wells from the historical DoD activities and this radar facility. Um but we will be conducting this final verification of installing one additional well sampling it along with
the entire well network to just formally confirm that there's no petroleum constituents >> um above G GW1 standards outside that 45 foot you know immediate vicinity of the former US.
Um, that concludes our technical slides. This is Grace's contact information. Um, for anyone if you, you know, may need to get in touch with her after the meeting, um, or on down the road, uh, you have
that. And at this time, we'd open it up for questions, um, comments, discussion. >> Yep. If you have Yeah. Um so I guess my um uh first of all thank you for that
presentation that was very thorough and um clear. Um so my my question has to do with DP and the coordination between um
you Travis um and uh you maybe the the Army Corps of Engineers with D. Have you shared this information with them? And where does the town then stand visav
um our orders, you know, the conditions that that we might be subject to if you guys wrap your work up. What is what are we going to face with D?
>> Yeah, I can answer that. So, yes, Mass D is aware that this is a possibility. Um, we've we've spoken with them briefly about it. And as for the town's responsibilities going forward, I can
touch base with them and and get back to you. I'm not really sure um as far as the responsibilities to mass D going forward, but as we go through the process, they'll
um I imagine become a little more involved and we can we can discuss that with them. >> Yeah. I I guess the question is is whether or not any of these results, you know, in terms of the of the groundwater
um are we still going to be under some sort of D um oversight of this site? >> Sure. And that's that is something I'll have to get back to you on. Um Okay. I don't I don't have a full answer to that
right now. Okay, >> do you have any questions? >> No, no, that was that was that was similar to my question. >> Um, do you have any questions? >> Can I I don't have questions. Yeah, go ahead. >> Are you able to share these slides with
us if we wanted to like put them up on our website for people who may not have been here tonight? >> Yes, definitely. That was Kelly. Yeah, >> I see Maryanne or Mary Mary Lou stand up.
>> Yes. >> Hi. >> My name should >> is Mary Lou Kanka and my question is for Mr. Williamson. Um you mentioned something about Tidewater. Is that the name of your company?
>> It is. >> Okay. So >> I have a question about that. >> Okay. Did the town of Shootsbury hire you or are you working for the um USA?
>> I Yeah, I am a contractor for the Army Corps of Engineers. So, I have a contract that they issued to uh the company that I work for. So, I'm working for the Army Corps of Engineers and not the town. >> Okay.
Thank you. >> Yep. Okay. >> Was there any other questions? >> Yeah. I guess I have one other question. Um, if uh I guess my question relates to
if um we ever wanted to do any other kind of development at the back of that site, would we be procluded from doing that by virtue of the groundwater contamination and those
three wells that that are there? If >> you know, say we wanted to put um you know, another town building back there and we needed water.
>> Is anything would anything stop the town from being able to dig a well back there? I I mean strictly speaking with the fact that there are GW1 exceedences in the immediate vicinity of this
former underground storage tank. Um you would not want to put a drinking water well in that location. Um or in a location that's going to draw water from this area. Um,
so I mean, you know, there's there's a well up here that's associated with the new library uh that's that's 950 ft away. I mean, that's and and the data that's been collected indicates, you know, there's no
contamination migrating away that's going to be of of any risk to that area um or any of the other wells in the vicinity. Um, but I mean until the concentrations are below drinking water standards, you
wouldn't want to have a well there drawing water. >> So So would the town be Go ahead. >> Oh, that that's right there, right? But not you could be some number of feet away from that or whatever >> conceivably. Yeah, I mean you would
make, you know, you would want to make some do some some um >> you would want to evaluate like how close could you be and not, you know, not cause any problems. But yeah, exactly. I mean, you wouldn't want to put a well right there by that former
underground storage tank. Um, in terms of how far away you would need to be, I mean, you know, there's probably uh different regulations and just some technical evaluation that would need to be done to to to come to
that determination. >> And is there is there any reason that the town would need to continue to monitor those wells? Is that something that um you think D might require us to
do testing those wills? >> It's hard. I know it's hard for you to >> I think that goes back to the I think that goes back to the other question that Grace couldn't really fully answer is just understanding as this as this evolves and this additional round of
data gets collected and depending on what it says >> will dictate the path forward and if it's you know one versus the other what does that mean um
I I think and you know until We I mean I think trying to understand that now is is obviously better. Um but um until we get there, we may not have a a full understanding of of where it's going to go.
>> Thank you, Maryanne. >> Hi, thanks for the presentation. It was very clear. Um, so you're gonna have to come in and put in one more well, which means bringing in a geop probe, right? Yes. And >> Yes. >> Um, and are you planning to come through
the library parking area and over the newly made grassy older? >> Um, we will we Yes, I guess. Um, but if
you know we will have a you know an like a remote like an off-road type of uh geop probe again that is intended to minimize any damage. >> And if there's, you know, if there's something, you know, we can we can lay
things down to sort of traverse over if there's something, you know, like really nice grass over the curb that you don't want us to mess up or what have you. like we can work with you on those kinds of things. Like we do not want to mess anything up uh at all, but yeah, I'm not
sure how else we would get there if we weren't coming into the parking lot, sort of parking somewhere in the back, and then >> moving over top of uh you know, whatever curb and what might be there. >> Right. Right. I think it's really the only way to get there. So, but you'll work with us to try and protect
>> it. really we have an emerging um landscaping happening just planted at the um end >> um and we'll just be getting it started and then I don't know when you're planning on doing this work um but it'll
just be getting started and then I think you'll potentially tear it up and so it would be nice if you could repair it. >> Okay. Yep. Yeah. >> Yeah, we will we will definitely account for that in our plans and um and make sure if there's if we mess anything up,
we will fix it. >> Okay. >> We don't we don't want to me we don't want to make you mad, Marian. You've been very helpful the whole the whole project. >> We don't either. We don't want to make it mad. >> We appreciate that. Thank >> Yeah. >> Thank Thank you very much.
>> Yeah. No, thank you. Appreciate all the support. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. Um, so I think thank you for the presentation. I think we're going to move on um to our meeting. Um, if you could email those slides, Grace, or to to Haley, that would be great. And she
can put them up on the wall on the internet or and we'll have them for the select board files. So that's great. Um, >> excuse me, I put my hand back up. I'm getting maybe she
>> I don't know if you'll entertain second question. >> Could you Mary um Mary Lou could you send us an email with your question and we can we can ask the the crew directly. Um so so we can finish up our agenda for this evening. >> All righty.
>> Thank you. Um okay. So thank you very much and um we appreciate you coming and updating us. >> Yes. Thank you. >> Thank you. No, we appreciate the talk. >> Thanks everybody. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. Um, okay. Was there anything
else? >> Yeah, I just I think um I would add this to the list for a a town meeting just in terms of, you know, key update. Um, >> yeah, >> I could take um
>> Well, too bad they're not I'm not talking, but you know, you can take the slides and kind of condense them into like a more digestible format >> with a link to go back to the website if you want the full slides. >> Yeah. I I think the other concern for me, I mean, I was sort of expressing it
is is I just want to know before they're out of the picture where things stand with D. So, and I don't recall. I mean, maybe Maryanne has a has a name, but um >> well, I can also ask you working with
them anyway on the school, >> right? Yeah, I think I probably have in my notes if I was going to go back, but you know, people change. So, I mean, there were dedicated >> staff people um for this. So, you know, it would be really good to um to talk to
them. Yeah. Because, you know, my big concern is is that EP is going to come back in and say, "Oh, well now, you know, we want you to test those wells every six months or you know that we're going to still be under some kind of a order and and the Army Corps of Engineers has said,
>> you know, we're adding the real the real question is if we >> if that first I choice I I would be calling FUDs or whatever." >> Yeah. >> The first the one on the top there is met. That is to say that there's no need for this company to do anything else. If
they if they say that's that's true, is that are we done? That's your question. >> That's sort of my question. Is that I doubt it. I mean, I I it would be very nice if if
Yeah. But but >> Right. If we're not using it. >> Yeah. If we're not using it. But now we're going to have we'll have all these wells there. And you know, I know with, you know, with the with the fire station, we were still testing many
years out after the ground storage tank >> and that was the moving target. That was sometimes it was less, sometimes it was more consistently moving, >> right? And and and that was sort of what I I remember when um it fuss and I can't remember whoever.
Yeah. When when they came in that you know, they were getting different readings too. Yeah. >> So, um I mean they had readings now from 2025 and we had stuff from 2022. So, I mean that's good and we we know the numbers, but I think
>> they've done a lot of testing. >> They've done a lot of testing and and we have more wells now. Um, so I think we just need to understand because we know that every time you test a well, even if it's a few hundred dollars and it, you
know, just it it adds up and >> sent myself a note. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. It's just before they're before they're gone. Yes. >> Um I mean it sounds like it's it's going to be a little while because they have to put that other will in and that's and then they have to get the results but it
would be good to start that discussion with DP now. >> Well, maybe they could report to us too at the end when they're done with that. Well, what's the final final? >> Oh yeah. No, I mean we do we would welcome them to come back and give us the result.
>> This was a very good presentation. >> Yes. Yeah. No, it was very thorough, but I'm still I'm still at least >> Well, there's still some there's still, you know, unknowns. So, >> yeah. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Unknown.
>> It's more known, but still unknown. Right. Right. >> It's more known to us. >> Okay, that sounds good. Um, was there anything else that we needed to talk about on the agenda tonight? Um, our next meeting is >> when is our next meeting? >> Just checking.
>> 28th. We've been at the 28th. >> Okay. >> Okay. The 28th. All right. Um Okay. Or or unless we need one before then. >> Yes. Or
>> So with that, do I hear um a motion to adjurnn? So moved. >> Second. >> All right. All in favor? Daryl. >> I stuck. I >> make peace. So neash and happy birthday and inhale.
>> I'm going to call my happy birthday husband now.