Town Manager Greenlights 2003 Island Clean-Up

Town Manager Reginald “Buzz” Stapczynski wants to give Alan French the chance to organize an all-volunteer clean-up of the debris on the island in Foster's Pond.

In an October 15 telephone conversation with FPC President Steve Cotton, Stapczynski said that the Conservation Commission will authorize French to proceed with the volunteer effort to remove the pile of debris left when the Town demolished a two-story house on the island last winter. The island is owned by the Town and is under the jurisdiction of the Conservation Commission.

Stapczynski said that he had ruled out one other clean-up alternative that the Town had considered - a controlled burn of the material, most of which is unpainted wood.

In response to Cotton's urging that the Town have a back-up plan in case the volunteer clean-up doesn't succeed to removing all of the material, Stapczynski said that the Town would hire a contractor to remove any remaining debris. Last winter, a Town contractor was able to take a small front-end loader across the ice to demolish the house. Stapczynski said that, if necessary, the Town would engage a contractor this winter to remove debris left behind by the volunteers - if the ice is thick enough.

Stapczynski said that the Town will provide a dumpster in which the volunteers can put the debris removed from the island. Foster's Pond Road resident David Adilman has volunteered his property as the site for the dumpster and as the jumping-off point for the volunteers.

French was delighted to hear that the Town will permit a volunteer effort and said that he would begin organizing it. He said that he was hopeful he could recruit experienced volunteers who have taken part in clean-ups on the Shawsheen River and Bay Circuit Trail, as well as high school students. He said he was also hopeful, based on our FostersPond.com survey, that some Foster's Pond residents would participate, as well.

French is a Town resident and owner of Moor & Mountain. He has been actively involved in work on the Bay Circuit Trail.