Peabody FinCom approves bond order for pond cleanup

PEABODY – Maybe it was the presence of Mayor Michael Bonfanti himself, or perhaps the absence of Councilors Dave Gravel and Jim Liacos, but the Finance Committee finally approved the bond order request in the amount of $960,000 to clean up Spring Pond.In a 3-1 vote, the committee took one step closer to fixing a very large mistake made by Public Service Director Dick Carnevale that led to the contamination of Lower Spring Pond.”I just think this is the right thing to do,” said Committee Chair Ted Bettencourt, Jr., who’s supported the bond order in the past. “I think the city of Peabody wants to be on the right side of the Department of Environmental Protection?We need to take care of it.”Between 1997 and 2006, the city was denied permission to dispose of residual waste (dirt, iron, etc.) through the South Essex Sewerage District. Carnevale made the penny pinching call to pump all the waste into two onsite lagoons built with the ability to handle only half that amount.Carnevale said last night that his decision saved the city nearly $900,000, but unfortunately, Peabody paid the price in other ways with a hard slap on the wrist by the DEP. The city was fined $25,000 in 2006 when reports of the contamination arose. That amount was lowered to $6,000 after the city consented to cleaning the pond by Oct. 1, 2008, or face a $1,000 a day fine until they do.The council voted against Bonfanti’s original request of $950,000 last month, choosing to instead use reserve funds to clean up the mess that has become Spring Pond over the past 10 years.”I strongly believe now is not the time to spend down our operating reserves for capital projects, but rather we should finance this project with the sale of municipal bonds, particularly when the cost to borrow funds are very favorable,” Bonfanti said earlier, adding that reducing Peabody’s reserves could increase the cost of borrowing.The bond would cover the installation of suction pumps to prevent further discharge from entering into the pond, as well as a Trak-Vac system that would remove settled residuals from the floor of the pond into a sewer system at the South Essex Sewerage District.Bonfanti said Thursday night that bonding would save the city upwards of $180,000 in the long run.”Time is really of the essence here and that’s what the issue really is,” Finance Director Patricia Schaffer said, noting that it would take 4-6 weeks after the approval before clean up could begin.The motion will come before City Council at their next meeting on Thursday, May 22.