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Council Approves Additional Soil Testing Around Rogers High School; Neighbors Seek More Transparency
Summary
Council approved an amendment to a VHB contract to expand investigation at the Harrison Avenue former dump adjacent to Rogers High School. Neighbors and advocacy groups pressed for clearer timelines and assurances about contaminated-soil handling and whether additional material would be added to the city’s existing stockpile.
The City Council approved contract amendment No. 2 to the existing agreement with engineering firm VHB to continue testing at the former Harrison Avenue dump and to further delineate an area of elevated lead concentrations near Rogers High School.
Why it mattered: Residents and advocates have raised concerns about a large stockpile of excavated material stored on the school site and about whether newly disturbed soil would increase the volume of that pile. The council’s vote authorizes additional site investigation work to better characterize areas of elevated lead and to inform a remediation plan that the Department of Environmental Management (DEM) would review.
What council heard: Members of the public including Peter Rice and neighbors pressed the administration for more transparency and frequent updates; a VHB project manager (Fred Bevans) summarized work completed to date: soil borings, groundwater sampling, and an imminent site investigation report that will be submitted to DEM. Bevans and city staff said further delineation is needed to define the “lead area” so a conceptual remedy can be developed and presented to the public. City and contractor representatives said the ‘‘lead area’’ identified by prior sampling extended beyond earlier test boundaries and therefore requires additional investigation.
Budget and scope: Councilors asked whether the additional testing would require more city funds beyond allowances in the existing school project budget. City and contractor representatives said the VHB amendment would be funded within existing project allowances set aside for contaminated-soil management, rock removal and similar contingencies, and that the council would not be asked for an immediate supplemental appropriation at this time. Council members said they expected clearer, regular updates going forward.
Action taken: The council approved the amendment for further investigation. Contractors and administration said the data will be compiled into a site investigation report for DEM and shared with the public; the contractor said any highly contaminated soils that meet DEM’s thresholds for off‑site removal will not be added to the stockpile and would be handled and disposed of under DEM oversight.
Ending: The vote advances additional field work and reporting intended to move the project toward a formal remediation plan. Neighbors and several council members emphasized the need for ongoing public updates and clearer coordination between the school reconstruction work and the separate remediation process for the adjacent former dump area.
