WESTWOOD—Bids to undertake a remediation of the lead-contaminated former police pistol range in Westvale Park — a quarter-acre slice of borough-owned property — will be opened in public on Wednesday, Oct. 25 at 11 a.m. at Borough Hall.
The borough has been planning to remediate the site for years, and in mid-July, approved a bond ordinance to appropriate $290,000 for the work.
According to the ordinance, the borough said it anticipated receiving a state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) grant of $161,220.56 to help finance the cost of improvements.
The work to be performed under this contract includes the remediation of the primary pistol range impact berm and range floor including lead contaminated soil and site restoration.
All work shall be completed within 90 days of the contract’s signing, states the public notice.
In early 2022, the ordinance noted a cost estimate of “at least $223,250.75,” which is nearly $67,000 below the current estimated price tag.
Last year, Borough Administrator Durene Ayer said once the grant was officially approved by DEP, the borough would likely go out for bids on the site’s remediation. She said the borough’s share was then estimated at $55,812.69, and was likely to come from bond anticipation notes.
Under the current estimated bond costs of $290,000, minus the expected state grant, the local bonded cost for the remediation will be approximately $128,779.44.
Officials said costs had risen since early last year, and make up the rise in estimated project costs.
Once remediated, the site will be converted into a passive park, officials said. In March 2022, the Borough Council, under Ordinance 22-6, authorized a deed restriction on the land in exchange for a cost reimbursement grant for required soil remediation.
Nearly 18 months ago, Mayor Ray Arroyo told Pascack Press, “Getting the lead out hasn’t been quick and easy. Nor inexpensive. We are grateful for the grant funding that offsets these costs.” He noted the WWPD officers hone their skills at the Firearms Training Facility in North Arlington.
In 2014, the borough engineer provided a brief history on Westwood’s range, noting it was constructed in the 1950s by the police reserves, operated some 55 years, and closed in May 2007.
The range comprised about a quarter acre on a 37.5-acre borough-owned property, which also included DPW facilities, a former municipal landfill, and the borough’s leaf composting facility.
In 2014, Boswell-McClave conducted a remedial site investigation costing $85,000 that determined the extent of the soil contamination, mostly due to the lead rounds fired on site into a range backstop composed of an earth berm and cinderblock wall. Lead contamination was found on the range’s floor and throughout the berm area.
A recent paper in Environmental Health noted, “Lead is a toxic substance with well-known, multiple, long-term, adverse health outcomes. Shooting guns at firing ranges is an occupational necessity for security personnel, police officers, members of the military, and increasingly a recreational activity by the public. In the United States alone, an estimated 16,000–18,000 firing ranges exist. Discharge of lead dust and gasses is a consequence of shooting guns.”
Westvale Park features two multipurpose fields, two softball fields, a Little League baseball field, and a baseball field, all lighted; an ADA accessible playground; a covered pavilion with six picnic tables; a dog park; a field house with concession stand and ADA-accessible bathrooms; and a paved walking path of 0.6 miles.
It also connects to Pascack Brook County Park through a shaded nature preserve featuring a pond and native flora and fauna.