Council presses to clear Majestic Oaks dirt pile after residents report contamination

Council members at a special-call meeting pressed town staff to remove a long-standing large dirt and debris pile at Majestic Oaks, after residents described it as an eyesore and staff reported contaminants in the fill.

A contractor offered to haul away the material at no cost; staff said the company has already started removal work and that accepting free removal would avoid taxpayer expense. "We thought that was a pretty good option was to remove the dirt for free," one staff member said, adding the contractor started work and could have the material taken off the site into January.

But council members and staff raised contamination concerns. One councilmember described the pile as containing asphalt, concrete and garden hose and said "I don't know how well filled dirt it would be" for use as fill. Staff cautioned that contaminated fill would not be permitted for wetlands filling without state testing and approvals and recommended the material not be used behind Fire Station 2.

Council directed that the dirt be removed as quickly as possible; one councilmember said, "The dirt needs to be taken off of Majestic Oaks ASAP ... If he wants it, he needs to come get it." Staff said they could also explore using town equipment to move material to a storage pad behind Fire Station 2 but that would occupy town crews and would take several weeks; staff agreed to return with cost estimates if council wanted that option.

Council also asked staff to ensure the contractor removes non-project materials (piped sections and mangled pipes) left at the site and to require seeding and straw where restoration is needed once the piles are cleared.

The council did not vote formally on the removal method but signaled support for immediate clean-up and directed staff to pursue removal and clarify whether any of the material is contaminated and thus unusable for town fill.