By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD — It turned into a battle of environmentalists, with fossil fuel opponents finally prevailing over those who also want to save every tree. In the end, Article 5 at Saturday morning’s Town Meeting passed by a wide margin and the Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department will be able to build its new “energy park/micro grid” on a one-acre wooded area just off Hemlock Road.
The micro-grid would serve the energy needs of the new Northeast Metro Tech (NEMT) and the proposed new Wakefield Memorial High School (WMHS) and would allow both schools to go all electric.
Article 5 sought to allow the Town Council to authorize a grant of easement to the WMGLD for the parcel of town-owned land where the WMGLD would construct and operate a micro-grid in the form of an energy park that would include battery storage, solar generation and natural gas generation. The article also authorized the Town Council to petition the state legislature to allow the grant of easement.
WMGLD General Manager Pete Dion presented the proposal for the energy park, with attorney Michael McCarthy handling the legal aspects on behalf of the WMGLD.
Dion explained that there will be a small amount of taxpayer dollars used to pay for supporting electricity and natural gas infrastructure. WMGLD estimates these costs to be $500,000 for NEMT and $500,000 for WMHS. These costs are currently included in each school’s building budget. Other costs will be borne by the WMGLD.
Due to the need for the energy park to serve both schools, the WMGLD first evaluated existing non-forested sites, NEMT land sites and locations near WHS, Dion explained.
Parking in the area is already very limited, so parking lots were not an option, Dion said. NEMT has limited open land, located too far from Hemlock Road, significantly increasing costs and impacting existing athletic field design.
WMHS has no space on either side of Hemlock Road to accommodate the Energy Park, Dion added. Topography and ledge along the road also present a challenge.
The location that was chosen is centrally located, Dion said, close to the road with relatively level topography and limited ledge, reducing infrastructure work required.
There will be a 25-foot natural vegetated buffer between the road and the Energy Park, Dion noted, adding that WMGLD will replace the approximately 128 trees that need to be removed as part of the construction of the Energy Park. To offset the lost forested area, the WMGLD will also convert a retired substation on Albion Street to a community park and will identify other forested land that will be protected, Dion explained.
He said that the WMGLD needed the approval of Town Meeting right away due to the lead times required for purchasing materials, plus the NEMT’s need to know what the school’s energy source will be. He indicated that failure to approve the energy park would result in the NEMT reverting to natural gas use, which would result in 13 metric tons of carbon emissions in the first year alone. The same would be expected at WMHS.
Dion noted that the WMGLD would also be providing 10 electric vehicle charging stations as part of the deal.
Christine Rioux of Woodland Road said that she was concerned about destroying the habitat of woodland species if the proposed site was used. She added that she hadn’t seen any analysis of alternative sites for the energy park.
Bob Brooks of June Circle also was opposed to the proposed site. He maintained that the New England climate is warming faster than other regions and trees and forested areas provide important natural protection against climate change.
But Tiana Veldwisch of West Water Street said that the town should “seize the opportunity” to make both schools fully electric. She insisted that the number of trees saved would not offset the harm of burning fossil fuels to heat the schools.
Michael Scollo of Swain Place also supported the WMGLD proposal under Article 5, calling it “very progressive,” making Wakefield “a leader in sustainability.”
Jennifer Kallay of Sylvan Avenue, chair of the WMGLD Board of Commissioners, maintained that the carbon impact of using fossil fuels as an energy source for the schools vastly outweighs the benefit of the trees in terms of carbon reduction.
David Knudsen of Eaton Street agreed that the benefit of having all electric schools would be “tremendous” compared to the benefit of any trees lost.
Kathleen Shine-Cain of Elm Street supported the project. “Don’t allow the perfect to interfere with achieving the good,” she advised.
Laurel Gourville of Reynolds Road also supported the project, noting that the forested area in question “is not in good shape.”
Ultimately, Article 5 passed by a vote of 132-15, well exceeding the required two-thirds majority.