Marva Gaston asks council for documents and timeline on former Paperboard demolition site

Marva Gaston told the Middletown City Council at its March 17 meeting that she remains worried about debris and potential contamination left after demolition of the former Middletown Paperboard Company along Vity Parkway and that she has not received the records she requested.

"Are we living amongst contaminated material?" Gaston asked. She said a city staff member, Mr. Tatis, called with an update that identified one or two areas that ‘‘need to be dug up, removed, and then backfilled,’’ but she said she still lacks the documentation she has repeatedly requested and wants all the material provided to her.

Gaston described seeing equipment briefly on the site and then gone and questioned why material the city has said is uncontaminated would not be reused for backfill. She asked for a timeline of planned work, a full packet of demolition and removal records and clarification on what was found on the site.

Mayor Slanka thanked Gaston for raising the issue. The meeting record shows that staff previously contacted Gaston and that she requested the full documentation again; the council made no formal motion or vote on the matter during the meeting. City staff (via the city manager’s office) indicated earlier in the meeting that comment cards and requests are forwarded to the city manager for staff follow-up.

Next steps: Gaston requested a written follow-up and copies of records; the transcript records that she was told staff would follow up, but it does not record a specific deadline or a subsequent date for the documents to be delivered.