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Finance committee backs $87,000 to remove lead at Westborough police firing range
Summary
After debate about training needs and liability, the Advisory Finance Committee recommended allocating $87,000 in ARPA funds to remediate lead at the police range; the committee noted the Westborough Police Foundation pledged $100,000 toward the broader project.
The Westborough Advisory Finance Committee voted unanimously on Nov. 18 to recommend that the Select Board allocate $87,000 in ARPA funds to pay for lead reclamation and soil remediation at the town’s police firing range.
Police Chief Todd Minardi told the committee the immediate remediation is required to address lead in the range soil and that a specialist firm (MT2) would excavate, screen, chemically treat and recycle recovered lead according to EPA standards. "I decided this year to put on a capital request for $87,000 to do a lead reclamation and cleanup of the site," Minardi said during his presentation.
Minardi framed the remediation as an environmental and operational necessity that would precede any larger range upgrades. He also described a larger, longer-term plan for a more sophisticated target and training system that would enable judgmental ("shoot/no-shoot") training but said that larger project would likely come forward as a separate capital article. The police foundation has committed roughly $100,000 toward the broader project; Minardi and the finance team recommended funding remediation now and returning to Town Meeting or the Select Board for later capital authorization for the rest.
Town Manager Christy Williams and finance-team members said funding the cleanup now would not preclude bringing the larger range-improvement request before Town Meeting; remediation can be performed quickly and would remove an environmental barrier to future work. Committee member discussion focused on frequency of use (the department does formal firearms training twice a year), liability considerations and the possibility of other agencies helping to offset costs. The chief said he had asked other agencies for assistance and had not secured contributions.
What the committee recommended: a motion to recommend the Select Board allocate $87,000 to the remediation project passed 9–0–0. The committee recorded the recommendation and directed staff to prepare documentation for the Select Board; DPW/Police will provide follow-up reporting on remediation completion and cost reconciliation.
Next steps: The Select Board will consider the committee’s recommendation. The chief and town staff said the remediation work would likely be contracted to a specialist and expected to take a short time once authorized; the full training-range upgrade will be subject to future capital approvals and fundraising.
