Letter: High school might be good site for new Beverly sports complex

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October 20, 2009

Anonymous The Salem News Tue Oct 20, 2009, 12:28 AM EDT

To the editor:

I have been getting feedback from my recent letter to the editor about the proposed skating rink and indoor batting facility that several city councilors are working on placing near Beverly Airport.

It has been noted to me that some think that I am against the proposal or don't believe that the Beverly Little League or Mr. Petrie should build the facility. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I applaud the Beverly Little League and Mr. Petrie for their willingness to invest in Beverly and provide us with a sports complex that could be used by all. The issue is that the site being proposed is within the watershed of Wenham Lake, the source of drinking water for Salem and Beverly.

The process by which the site was selected is flawed. The Salem-Beverly Water Supply Board and the Beverly City Council released the site for development with no input from citizens or public hearing. There needs to be a defined plan for the development or reuse of all parcels within the watershed, something recommended by the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The current watershed overlay district and its restrictions are outdated and need revision. The mayor has convinced the council that through engineering, the site will not pose any danger to the reservoir.

It is not possible to engineer against all of nature's forces; just ask the residents of Beverly Farms what happened when the newly-built Chubbs Brook retention pond failed during the Mothers Day storms of 2006.

I would like to offer an alternative site. Why not build this facility on the site of the soon-to-be-demolished old academic wing of Beverly High School? The site is centrally located, has nearby highway access, and would require fewer special permits and environmental assessments than the watershed site.

I would pledge as a city councilor to work to get this done. It would be a unique facility and an asset to Beverly residents.

I still have reservations about the economic feasibility of this project, however, and would be against using public funds for anything beyond site preparation.

Since this is a sports complex, I would like to see some of the lease payments redirected to Beverly High School to offset or eliminate the student athletic fee. I do apologize to St. John's Prep for including them as a backer of the project; that was erroneously reported by The Salem News two years ago.

Robert Hames

Candidate for Ward 6 city councilor

Beverly

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