Hi, everybody;
   There's an upcoming vote at Andover Town Meeting on April 23rd, about what  to do with the old Essex Gravel Pit.
   This is a nice spot.  The South School science classes use it as a sort of  outdoor nature lab.
   It is on the east side of the river near the big bend just downstream of the Vale Street putin.
   There are two competing proposals for the land.
   (1) construction of soccer fields  (article 10 on the warrant)
   (2) the Andover Eco Park (article 11 on the warrant)
   Both these articles require a 2/3 vote to pass.  If neither passes, I understand the status quo will remain in effect (which is a good result).
   A fellow named Tom Jones (no relation either to me or the singer) is the organizer.  I understand he has already met with Chief Screaming Eagle.  Here's his contact info.

Andover EcoPark
3 Dundee Park
Andover, MA 01810
info@andoverecopark.com
978-828-8209

He has put together a web site.

http://www.andoverecopark.com/


   Andover voters ... please be there!  These low-numbered articles should come up within an hour and a half of the start of the meeting.  Jim Doherty, the moderator, thinks that the first evening's business will get all the way to article 23.
Tom would like to get together with as many of us as are interested.

Thanks!
Ollie Jones
978 828 0365

 Andover Ecopark
The excitement behind the Andover EcoPark is a combination of the natural attributes of the Pomp's Pond region with the very special opportunities it provides.
   Bordered by a 45 to 65 foot cliff on the east and south, the Shawsheen River, AVIS property and the railroad on the west, and the Girl Scout camp on the north, the proposed space is quiet, physically protected, effectively free from toxic damage and basically underdeveloped. It's various zones combine to create a truly unusual ecological opportunity rarely seen in a New England suburban town.
   An EcoPark would provide local schools, scouting groups, and other organizations the resources to explore ecological and biological principles in a setting where they can be experienced first—hand. The creation of age-appropriate, season-dependent learning materials is a fundamental goal of this new organization. In addition to these materials, the physical structures in the Park would be designed to support classroom—sized groups.
   The Park's ecological objective would be to both enhance local species while reintroducing species which have long since disappeared. The potential for introduction of state and federally protected species of special concern would be a high priority.
   Finally, this region and the long—neglected gravel pit would be reclaimed in a way that will allow appropriate human access and create a town—wide asset that generations of all ages will value. Signs, boardwalks, observation points will be implemented with the core ecological objectives in mind.
 

Two options for town land:playing fields or 'eco-park'
What will town put in the pit?          4/12/01
By Rebecca Piro    Andover Townsman
   Residents have two options regarding the fate of the Essex Sand and Gravel Pit come Town Meeting.
   In two weeks, some town officials will ask Town Meeting to support the construction of playing fields in the sand pit. Article 10, a town-sponsored article, proposes that the town build three multi-purpose playing fields in the pit for $1.1 million of town money, $500,000 of which the private Andover Soccer Association has promised to reimburse.
   Another group will hold a follow-up  presentation,  in favor of an ecological park, as a second option for residents. Article 11, submitted by resident Tom Jones, proposes that the town create an ecological park for plant and animal wildlife, with complete private funding.
   Proposals for the development of the abandoned pit has come before Town Meeting twice before, in 1995 and in 1999. Both times, residents opposed building playing fields at that location.
   The two opposing options are a unique situation for Town Meeting. Rarely do residents have the opportunity to choose from more than one alternative at the same Town Meeting for one piece of land.
   Proponents for both articles have not come together on the issue. Resident Rich Nill, Soccer association fields coordinator and supporter of Article 10 says the creation of playing fields will not harm the animals that will continue to coexist alongside the construction.
   "The wildlife goes there just fine with the playing fields, and very minimal habitat will be disturbed," he says. "There will be a pretty wide buffer area from the wetlands and playing fields."
   Nill cites the Ipswich River Park in North Reading as an example of why the playing fields scheme can please residents interested in adding to the available passive and active recreation area, as well as preserving open space and wildlife.
   The Ipswich River Park started four years ago as an empty gravel pit, similar to the Essex Pit, says Nill. "The town filled it in with loam and planted it with local plant species, and they have walkways and lots of park benches," he says. The park also has playing fields and other active recreation uses right next to the more protected areas. "They pretty much married the concern for the environment with their own need for playing fields in a very positive, constructive way, he adds.
   Considering the comparison to thc Ipswich River Park concept, Nill believes that his article is not much different from that of Jones. But Jones disagrees. He says he has nothing against the Ipswich River Park concept, which he compares to the town's Recreational Park master plan that failed more than once at previous Town Meetings. However, the wildlife that may or may not coexist alongside the proposed playing fields is not even in the same ballpark as an ecological park, he says.
   "It's not like there's something wrong with (the playing fields) idea," he says. "It's just that it's not this idea."
   The gravel pit is a protected, untouched area that does not have an already  fully developed  ecological space, Jones says. It can be molded and shaped into a park that shelters animals like hawks, otters, snakes and foxes, and grows medicinal herbs, plants and trees. Schools could use the park for educational field trips. "This is a place to encounter nature first-hand" says Jonesi
   The ecological park concept needs the pit — what he calls the "jewel" of the area-for it to work, he adds. "The gravel pit is the nucleus of what is exciting here," he says. "We'd be going from 22 to 25 soccer fields, where we'd be going from zero to one eco-parks."
   The playing fields option has the support of the selectmen and the Conservation Commission, which voted to recommend approval of Article 10. The Finance Committee voted to recommend approval only if the town funds the project through a debt exclusion.
   The fact that Jones' proposal involves no town money, especially during a time of budget crunching, could help convince voters that his is the best environmental and fiscal choice, he hopes. Though it takes millions to fund an ecological park, he says the town can obtain money from Corporate and foundation grants.

Town tests water at local swimming hole
Dead fish wash ashore at Pomps Pond         4/12/01
By Neil Fater
   The town has studied the water at Pomps Pond to determine why several species of fish have died and washed ashore.
   Town workers went down to the pond on Tuesday after a resident told them a sewer-main break was killing fish. Public Works Director Jack Petkus says there was no sewer break, but officials took two samples of pond water. The results, available Wednesday, showed no evidence of a sewer break, he says.
   Pomps is a local swimming beach at Recreation Park, near the site of the Essex Sand and Gravel Pit. The tests showed Pomps water as having a total chloroform count of 100 or 125, and a fecal chloroform count of 5 or 15. The standards for swiinming are 1,000 for total count, and 200 (colonies per 100 ml) for fecal count, so the pond water is well within limits, he says.
   "There were 25, maybe 30 dead fish," says Everett Penney, health director. "It appears due to some oxygen imbalance in the pond."
   Penney and Petkus say such an imbalance may have been caused by a winter-long ice cap and decaying weeds in the pond. These things could have left too little oxygen for some fish to survive. They also contend that the fish could have died last fall and been trapped in the ice, or that local ice fisherman could have caught the fish during the winter and then thrown them back
into the pond. A virus also might be affecng the fish at Pomps, says Penney.
   But a town conservation land overseer had a different explanation for the problem on Tuesday, after meeting with officials.
   "It is a sewer-main break" charges Jean Martin, overseer of the 34-acre Pole Hill conservation area. Officials maintain her claim  is  100 percent  false. "There was a very putrid smell because of the decaying fish" argues Penney.
   "It's not the smell of dead fish. It's the smell of a septic system," says Martin.
Petkus says that a public works worker went to the Pond with Martin and saw the pipe she was concerned about. He says the pipe has become exposed due to erosion, but it is not leaking.
"There's a section of pipe that runs along Pomps Pond that runs very shallow," said
Petkus. "But iron pipe is extremely strong. It's 100 percent tight. It doesn't leak like plastic."

Rec Park playing fields benched again by TM voters      4/27/00
By Judy Wakefield
   The turtles will continue to nest in peace at the Essex Sand and Gravel Pit.
   Meanwhile, 6-year old soccer players like Hannah Nichols say they will continue to get hurt every time they fall because Andover playing fields are in terrible shape from overuse.
   "The fields are rocky, bumpy and have no grass," Hannah told Town Meeting Tuesday night, but her plea for new fields fell on deaf ears.
   Town Meeting rejected spending $1.1 million to overhaul Recreation Park. The plan included building three playing fields along with a parking lot, trails, a footbridge and a fishing platform. The vote was 319-215 against the job. The Finance Committee was also opposed to the project.
   While Hannah and several other residents argued that Andover desperately needs new fields, other residents voiced concerns about disturbing the existing "ecology" in the gravel pit area.
   Turtles nest in the sand and hawk sightings have been reported. The area is a popular walking trail for many residents, such as Joan Ellis of Willard Circle.
   "It's a special place, let's not ruin it," she said.
 "Do we want to be defined by what we build or what we preserve?" asked Ed Parker of Carlisle Street.
   Opponents were also concerned about the cost of the project and applauded when the Finance Committee announced its opposition to the plan. The committee called the plan "very expensive" and is concerned about "doing too much too fast."
   They asked residents to wait until several ongoing projects — the public safety center, the senior center and the new schools — are further along before supporting the plan.
   A disappointed Mary Donohue of the Departnent of Community Services, which runs numerous athletic programs, said supporters will do just that.
   "This was a grave mistake. We desperately need those fields," she said, adding that the gravel pit area is anything but an ecological paradise.
   "I would not walk alone there. It's not safe," she said,"There is a lot of trash around there and a lot of partying going on."
   Donohue announced Wednesday that DCS has launched "Essex on Abbott," a fundraising effort for the Recreation Park plan. Donations may be made to Friends of DCS, Essex on Abbott, Bartlet Street, Andover.
   "We support the master plan and will come back to Town Meeting with community support and offer the money to help defray costs," Donohue said.
   She wondered if the plan would have been approved if it were presented on Monday instead of Tuesday.
   Monday's crowd was overwhelmingly made up of parents because the new school building plan was discussed. In fact, more than 1,200 people attended Monday. Less than half of that number attended Tuesday.
 

Passive rec land money OK'd   4/27/00
By Rebecca Lipchitz
   Town Meeting voters on Tuesday approved more than $1.5 million that Andover can use to buy conservation land, but voted down a$1.1 million project to turn theEssex Sand and Gravel pit at Recreation Park into playing fields.      Both moves were recommended by the Finance Committee.  While the FinCom supported buying  conservation land Tuesday, on Monday night it argued against adding $20,000 to the budget for a part-time conservation land manager to help oversee such land.    Voters did not agree to this suggestion, however, adding the position and two others, one each in the youth services and elder services departments.   Conservation Commission member Donald Cooper said approval of the $1.5 million in Article 32, combined with an existing fund of more than $900,000, would allow the town to buy several pieces of conservation land that officials have been negotiating over the past few months.   "It's the only tried and true method we have of taking land out of the development cycle," Cooper said.   But Selectman John Hess abstained from the vote on Artice 32, and asked the Finance Committee why they recommended money for conservation land, and not playing fields (Article 28).   "I can't see how we can continue to afford conservation land if we can't afford to invest in our recreational needs," he said.   Voters also approved acquisition of land on Brundrett Avenue for $14,250. This land is valued at $100,000, Cooper said.   Moderator Jim Doherty referred to the price of the land, which 'links other pieces of town conservation land and open space, as "chicken feed."

Save where the wild things are, at Rec Park        4/26/00
Editor, Townsman:
   Next week, voters will be asked to appropriate $1.1 million to allow the construction of new playing fields at the old Essex Sand and Gravel Pit.
    In the long term, the development of the Essex Gravel Pit will prove to be a costly error. As it is today, abandoned for over thirty years, this former conservation land is an integral part of a complex wetlands ecosystem, unrivaled in its expanse and biodiversity.
   When confronting development projects such as this, we too often look only at the acreage to be built upon and rarely at the projects effects on the surrounding environment. It is important to look at the surrounding environment in all cases but particularly in this instance. The Essex Gravel Pit and its immediately adjacent areas are a unique and vital system of marshes, fields, woodlands, and bogs — home to river otter and bittern, harriers and red fox, the nesting grounds of turtles and killdeer. Are these wildlands to recover from decades of misuse, only to be misused again?!
   Proper management of the Essex Gravel Pit should not include parking lots and access roads, but rather passive assistance to nature's efforts to rejuvenate itself. If mechanized vehicles were effectively banned from the old Essex Gravel Pit, the pit would quickly revert to fields, and within five years be successfully colonized by young white pines and birches. A proactive plan would include programs designed to encourage this process and to reintroduce species formerly abundant in Andover.
   On a larger environmental scale, Andover is down to the wire. This town cannot continue to grow forever, and there is no sense in exploiting every last natural resource in an effort to do so.
   In the interest of Andover's waning wildlife and our all-but-vanished wildlands, please vote against Article 28.
Michael T. Jones
62 Porter Road

More fields for Rec Park?                          4/26/00
   For many parents and players who have been crying for more playing-field space, a plan to build three new fields in the little used gravel pit at Recreation Park seems like a home run.
   However, not everyone is thrilled about th idea. The Finance Committee has voted to recommend disapproval of the $1.1 million article.
   "The primary reason that we have (for opposing it) this year is not being sure that we can afford to buy them right now," says Joanne Marden FinCom member. "With so many projects looked on at this time, this is one that could at least be deferred." The project has been pulled together by Plant and Facilities Director Joe Piantedosi, who addressed the job at public meetings on Nov. 2, Dec.1 and Dec. 20 of last year.
   After taking public input, architects designed a plan that will put three full-size fields in the gravel pit. The plan is to use only two of the fields at a time.
   "The reason for doing that is so we don't put the fields under too much stress, and to minimize the (traffic) impact on the area," says Piantedosi.
   The project will add a second road into the site, meaning that people may be able to drive into Rec Park off of either Abbot or Woburn streets.However, Piantidosi says it is possible that the Woburn St. road would be designated a one-way.
   "We think that the real bottle neck will be at the end of games, when everyone will want to leave at the same time."
    A 140 car parking lot will be among the additions to the upper part of Rec Park. There will be 20 spaces down by the new fields, for use by people bringing equipment to the games.
   Piantedosi says the town could not use the gravel pit site for other functions, such as a town yard, because the land, which was given to the town, can only be used for recreation purposes.
   A footbridge and restrooms will also be added to the site. Although some residents had suggested adding a boardwalk to Fosters Island, the project is estimated to cost $110,000, or 10 percent of the money sought.Piantedosi says that part of the job will only be added to the project if field construction estimates come in significanfly lower than expected.