A brownfield site, in the classic definition, is an abandoned commercial or industrial site in need of redevelopment but often contaminated by its past use. That might not seem to apply to Thomas J. Sellitto Field, the pastoral upper football field at Verona High School.
But when the field was built in the late 1970s, it was created with fill from an industrial site, reportedly a former Edison Laboratory building. That has been the field’s undoing–but maybe also its salvation.
Glenn Elliott, who sits on the Board of Education’s Buildings and Grounds Committee, said at Tuesday night’s meeting that the committee has discussed the possibility of seeking federal funds reserved for brownfields cleanups to remediate the problems on the field.
In late August, the first of two holes opened on the field. That hole may have been a well shaft dating from when the high school property was used by a large orphanage in the 1800s. A $10,000 scan of the field by ground-penetrating radar identified other problem spots, including the area where the Edison landfill had been used. In mid-October, a second hole opened on the field in an area not previously identified as a problem. The Town Council announced then that it would cease mowing the field, which had already been closed to football games and other activities.
The BOE has not said what it might cost to rehabilitate Sellitto Field. Elliott said at the BOE meeting that, to apply for brown fields funds from the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection, the BOE would need to do soil testing, which could cost $12,000 to $15,000. “We don’t have a source of those funds now,” Elliott said. He also cautioned that, even if funds were to be found, “it’s not necessarily going to be a quick process.”
Superintendent Steven A. Forte said that the school district’s facilities director, Paul McDevitt, will be making a presentation on buildings and grounds issues at the November 27 BOE meeting, including the upper football field. He also indicated that the BOE would be consulting its architect for guidance on the field.
