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Contractor asked to use Lowell park as long‑term staging yard for multi‑million sewer project; board delays decision
Summary
Albanese D & S asked to use Hobby/Hubby Park for 2–2.5 years as a central staging yard for a roughly $44 million drainage/wastewater contract. Board members raised concerns about impacts to cricket and other park users, liability and alternative sites and voted to postpone action until staff and affected stakeholders can meet.
Andreas Ciano, a representative of contractor Albanese D & S, asked the Lowell City Parks Board for permission to use Hobby/Hubby Park as a single staging area for a multi‑street drainage/wastewater contract that would install large box culverts and deep pipe runs. Ciano described the work as involving 96‑inch and 72‑inch box culverts and excavations up to 25 feet deep and said concentrating materials and equipment at one site would reduce truck movements through neighborhoods.
"By allowing us to use Hobby Park, we would not need any of the other locations," Ciano said, adding that consolidating yards would lower travel time, double handling of materials and fuel use. He estimated the contract for this portion of work at around $44,000,000 and said the contractor would need a staging yard for approximately 2 to 2.5 years.
Board members questioned how the staging would affect playground access, handicapped parking and local organized users that maintain fields. Several board members — noting long‑standing youth and community uses — said they had not been consulted and emphasized the need for an agreement that requires the contractor to restore property and carry appropriate insurance and liability protections.
A city lawyer and DPW representative said an agreement with explicit restoration and liability terms would likely be required. Board members also suggested that the city consider smaller, distributed yards already included in the contract rather than taking a single park out of community use for years.
Given the size and duration of the proposed staging and concerns raised by park users (notably local cricket groups that use and maintain Hobby/Hubby Park), a board member moved to defer the request. The board voted to adjourn consideration of the staging request until the next meeting and to invite DPW, the law department and affected user groups for a fuller discussion.
What happens next: The board asked staff to coordinate a follow‑up meeting, to draft or review any proposed agreement language with the law department and to identify alternative locations and mitigation measures for affected leagues and user groups. No permit or agreement was granted during the meeting.
