Saugus solves Graves problem with pigeon droppings

SAUGUS – The Marleah Graves School became a hazardous waste site when workers were forced to suit up to clean up pigeon droppings that stood nearly two feet deep.Town Manager Andrew Bisignani said the town spent $5,000 to clean out the attic at the school being renovated by the MEG Foundation.”They took over 30 plastic bags out,” he said. “We had to have a hazardous waste company come it because that stuff is toxic.”Bisignani said not only was the massive amount of droppings hazardous to people working in the building but it could have been harmful to neighbors as well.He said he believed that if the Board of Health had known of the droppings it wouldn’t have allowed the foundation to work until it was cleaned up.MEG Foundation Chairman Janice Jarosz said the droppings were no secret. She pointed to a 2000 building report filed in the Town Clerk’s office that mentions the droppings.She said she reached out to the Bisignani to help with the cleanup because it was needed in order to comply with a grant the group is seeking.”It was knee-high, but it didn’t happen overnight,” she said.Bisignani said he was not aware of the severity of the problem but called it a public safety hazard, not simply a questionable mess.Jarosz said the problem should have been taken care of a decade ago but said no one was thinking of rehabilitating the building then. She did however point out the Emergency Management and the Shore Education Collaborative both occupied the building at different points over the years. She also said she never felt at risk working in the building.”It’s completely up in the attic,” she said. “You can’t even get into it through the building, there are two floors, then the attic.”Bisignani noted the area is more of a crawl space than a full attic but said it still took workers decked out in full hazardous waste gear and masks three days to shovel out the decade worth of droppings.”It had to be removed because that much created a pubic health hazard not just for the occupants of the building but even for the surrounding homes,” he added. “We cleaned it up, blocked the holes where they were getting in and sanitized the area.””They did an unbelievable job,” Jarosz said.