Brunson Elementary soil-testing change order draws public concern; board declines the change order

Winston-Salem ' The board on May 13 discussed a change order to the S&ME contract for additional soil testing at the Brunson Elementary site after members of the public and environmental reviewers told the district that state regulators may require imported clean soil and land-use restrictions.

Peter Antonacci, a resident who attended a Department of Environmental Quality meeting about the site, told the board the property selected for Brunson is highly contaminated and that a July 2024 risk assessment had not been shared publicly. "This site is so contaminated that for the last 4 years, the district has been negotiating with the state's version of the EPA, the Department of Environmental Quality," Antonacci said during public comment. He said DEQ later calculated exposure risks and that those results were not presented at prior public board meetings.

District staff explained that new soil-testing work was needed after test results showed contaminants that could require removal or import of clean material and additional negotiations with DEQ to lift land-use restrictions. The superintendent said one consequence of the DEQ process could be that certain activities would be restricted on the site unless additional approvals were obtained, for example planting gardens or installing playgrounds without further negotiation.

Board action

The board considered a change order to the S&ME contract to cover additional testing and approvals related to soils at the Brunson site. The motion to approve the change order was made by Vice Chair Alex Bohannon and seconded by Board member Watts. The transcript records that the motion did not carry: the meeting recorded a 7'to'2 result and the motion failed.

Discussion vs. decision

Discussion: Public speakers argued the district had not shared key DEQ risk-assessment materials with the board or the community. Staff described the technical reasons for additional testing and the potential need to import clean soil from another county and to test that imported material.

Direction: District staff said they would continue to work with DEQ and the district's environmental attorneys and expected an updated Brownfields agreement and related documents for board consideration in upcoming meetings.

Decision: The board did not approve the S&ME change order as presented (vote recorded as 7'to'2 against approval in the meeting transcript).

Clarifying details

- Additional soil testing and import: public comment and staff said DEQ calculations indicated additional testing was required and that DEQ had recommended import of clean soil from Davidson County; cost of additional soil testing was described as approximately $100,000 in public comment. - Project budget noted in public comment: the Brunson build had been discussed with a previously cited estimate of about $50,000,000 (commenter's summary of prior board discussions). - DEQ risk assessment: commenter said DEQ prepared exposure-risk calculations in July 2024 that were not previously shared at public board meetings.

Proper names

[{"name":"Brunson Elementary","type":"school"},{"name":"Department of Environmental Quality","type":"agency"},{"name":"S&ME","type":"business"},{"name":"Davidson County","type":"location"}]

Speakers

[{"name":"Peter Antonacci","role_title":"Resident","affiliation_type":"citizen","affiliation_name":""},{"name":"Tricia McManus","role_title":"Superintendent","affiliation_type":"government","affiliation_name":"Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools"},{"name":"Alex Bohannon","role_title":"Vice Chair","affiliation_type":"government","affiliation_name":"Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education"},{"name":"Board member Watts","role_title":"Board member","affiliation_type":"government","affiliation_name":"Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education"}]

Authorities

[{"type":"regulation","name":"Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Brownfields program requirements","citation":"DEQ Brownfields program guidance (referenced in public comment)","referenced_by":["Peter Antonacci","Tricia McManus"]}]

Searchable tags

["Brunson Elementary","brownfield","soil testing","DEQ","change order"]

Provenance

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