Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Waiver Pickelball Co topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Planning board allows temporary certificate of occupancy for Dynamite Pickleball after PFAS discovery, sets bonding and reporting conditions
Summary
After construction delay caused by discovery of PFAS‑contaminated soil, the board voted 6–1 to grant waivers allowing a certificate of occupancy with a bond, continued stormwater reporting, temporary striping and a June 30 completion deadline; staff required bond estimates to be increased by ~20% and an as‑built plan prior to bond release.
The Merrimack Planning Board on Jan. 20 granted a conditional waiver that will permit Dynamite Pickleball to obtain a certificate of occupancy while final site improvements are completed in spring, citing a unique contamination hardship and imposing tightened bonding and monitoring conditions.
Max Marinelli, the project’s general contractor, said crews discovered a major PFAS contamination during work in April and accumulated an on‑site stockpile of approximately 6,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil, which halted site work until late fall. Marinelli said the contamination and DES (state) requirements delayed the project schedule and left certain site finishes — top coat paving, final berms, some drainage details and fencing — incomplete.
Owner Michael (Mike) Canning told the board he purchased the adjacent parcel to relocate the contaminated material on‑site in accordance with the applicable consent decree area restrictions. “We found out about a major PFAS contamination… we had a stockpile of contaminated soil on‑site of approximately 6,000 yards that pretty much halted the site work until late October,” Marinelli said.
Town staff and the town engineer recommended conditions if the board granted the waiver request (from site‑plan regulations 6.01.c and 6.01.d) — including a single bond covering outstanding items, temporary striping and erosion controls, continued stormwater inspection and reporting for every qualifying event, and a date certain for completion. Staff also recommended the bond estimate be increased by about 20% to protect the town if the work is not completed and to require an as‑built plan approved by staff before any bond release.
After debate over precedent and public‑safety risks, the board approved the waiver request with staff‑recommended conditions, the 20% bond increase, and a June 30 completion date; the motion passed 6–1–0. The conditions require submission of a precise bond calculation to staff, weekly stormwater reports during construction and continued erosion control measures until final infiltration/gravel details are installed and approved. Community Development said it will perform an on‑site inspection before signing its portion of the CO and that the bond would not be released until the as‑built is accepted and final inspections are completed.
The approval allows site occupancy and staged completion of remaining site items; staff said the arrangement is site specific and urged the board to treat future similar requests on a case‑by‑case basis.
