Volunteer Park Cleanup Prompts Pittsfield To Do SameBy Joe Durwin, Special to iBerkshires
02:05PM / Tuesday, April 24, 2012 | |
 A ring of debris and old equipment around the Parks & Recreation buildings at Springside Park. |
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Volunteers cleaning up Springside Park on Saturday were 'shocked' at the city's untidy yard. After inquiries on Monday, workers began picking up debris that ringed the area. At left, orange plastic fencing that was lying on the ground was picked up by Tuesday.
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A small army of volunteers picked up trash at the city's largest park Saturday, but park advocates said the greatest refuse to be seen there came not from errant residents, but from the city itself.
This year marked the 23rd year that neighbors and volunteers from around the community gathered in Springside Park for a twice annual cleanup effort that spans the park's 231 acres. The day saw a large turnout and was deemed a successful event. Some volunteers, however, voiced dismay that there was little they could do about the some of the worst infractions to the park's beauty.
Indeed, the refuse situation throughout most of the park was described by organizers as milder than in the past. They encountered a reduced amount of both everyday litter and larger dumping in the park than in some prior years.
By far the worst scene of dumping that volunteers saw in their Saturday sweep was that done by the city itself. Over the past decade, disposal of large-scale rubbish by city employees from a variety of maintenance projects has become increasingly visible. The area around the storage facilities of the Parks & Recreation Department has become cluttered with broken machines, defunct vehicles, plastic waste and several tons of scrap metal.
"This is just shocking," said Ward 1 City Councilor Christine Yon. "I've been out here all morning, and most of the park is in good shape. By far the worst refuse is from the city."
Old plows, school playground equipment, fencing, rusting propane tanks and more ring the area in a vast perimeter around the barns and sheds near Springside House at 874 North St., occupied by the Department of Parks & Recreation.
"Some of it could be a wetlands violation," said David Frazier, part of the Vincent Hebert Arboretum group that helps to improve Springside Park.
Frazier was referring to Massachusetts Wetland Protection Act regulations, which prohibit dumping within 100 feet of vegetated wetland, or 200 feet of perennial stream, legal restrictions which the city appears to be violating with the dumped refuse, some of which is less than 50 feet from the wetland area known as Stephen's Pond.
Some has been there for as much as a decade, while other large waste items have been deposited there within the past three months. Park advocates say they have complained to the city in past years but refuse in that area continues to be a problem.
"I think admittedly there's some degree of housekeeping that could happen there," Jim McGrath, director of parks and open spaces, told iBerkshires on Monday. "This is probably a good time of year go through and inventory what we have, and looking over the grounds to consolidate what we have. If things can be recycled or brought to the dump, that's something that we can certainly look at."
Workers have been clearing brush and corraling debris for removal the past two days. |
McGrath said this would be something he would be discussing with the acting director of building and grounds and foreman Anthony Stracuzzi soon.
"It's certainly something we should have a look at, and we can commit to do that," said McGrath.
A significant mobilization ensued almost immediately after contacting the department, and by 10 Tuesday morning, several trucks worth of junk had been removed or consolidated, with evidence of several more truckloads that had already been prepared. Workers were at that time engaged in brush cleaning that might allow easier removal of some of the remaining wreckage closest to the Stephen's Pond area.
Aside from the waste found around the city's facilities there, cleanup organizers from the Friends of Springside Park voiced overall satisfaction with its cleanliness Saturday. Day-to-day litter and illicit dumping of building supplies in discrete corners of the park's expansive woodlands seems to have declined recently. Thirty to 40 volunteers removed about two dozen bags of rubbish, along with some large items like tires, pallets, and miscellaneous furniture over the course of the day.
"You should have seen it five years ago," said Bill Carrigan, the group's vice president. "It's in much better shape."
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