BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. – The potential site for a community garden at 66 Atkinson Street in Bellows Falls has been found to contain traces of lead and hydrocarbons, with additional environmental testing needed to be conducted.
The now-empty lot at 66 Atkinson Street is the former location of the Meeting Waters YMCA building, which was leveled during the winter of 2021 due to its dilapidated condition. Prior to housing the YMCA, the building was once a Methodist church, and one of the oldest churches in Bellows Falls.
Rockingham town manager Scott Pickup recently stated that the soil testing revealed that both lead and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), were found to be contaminating the soil, and has triggered a second round of testing from a local engineering firm. The vacant lot is currently maintained by the Town of Bellows Falls.
According to various environmental website sources, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons can be formed as a result of incomplete combustion of anything from crude oil, gasoline, and wood, to garbage, and even charbroiling meat.
The Town of Bellows Falls took ownership of the building and property, in part, when its former owner Christopher Glennon accumulated an unpaid property tax bill. There was also a growing concern of a public safety hazard so close to the school, in which the town also incurred thousands of dollars of expenses to ensure the building was secure and not a danger to the nearby school. Glennon had initially purchased the building in hopes of creating an arts-related community center.
In the spring of 2022, the Bellows Falls Trustees, Rockingham Selectboard, and the Saxtons River Village Trustees held a joint meeting to discuss options and determine a solution for the town-owned space. Representatives from the Central School also attended the meeting and expressed interest in the new landscape with the elimination of the run-down building.
When the building was torn down, there were multiple options being considered for the open space adjacent to the Central Elementary School, such as a school-maintained garden, but it was decided to create a community-based garden, built by a local group dedicated to the building of practical trades called BF Trades.
BF Trades Inc. was formed in 2021 as a 501(c)3 organization, designed to focus on local vocational education. In March of 2022, the group submitted a proposal for $75,000 on a 10-year lease to build the community garden. However, the town and village were looking to recoup a minimum of $85,000, and were looking to sell the property to an entity that would pay taxes on the property.