Medford Commission Continues Winchester Dam Hearing, Approves Dugout Order

MEDFORD — November 15, 2023 — Medford Conservation Commission continues Winchester dam hearing while approving a quick-fix order for improperly installed baseball dugouts. The commission voted unanimously to continue the South Reservoir Dam improvement hearing — DEP file 215-0235, filed by the Town of Winchester — to November 29 after a substantial supplemental package arrived the morning of the November 15 meeting, leaving unresolved issues including tree replacement mitigation, an invasive species removal plan, and a wetland seed mix and maintenance protocol for temporarily impacted bordering vegetated wetland. The commission also voted unanimously to issue an order of conditions for the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation's dugout replacement project at Veterans Memorial Park's Carmine V. Santoro Memorial Baseball Diamond, a project required to correct pads poured on top of existing degraded slabs without removal — work done without a prior commission order. Special conditions include concrete washout containment, no overnight equipment storage, and maintained pedestrian access along the adjacent path; the project will increase flood storage on the Mystic River Riverfront by approximately 364 cubic feet. Teresa Dupont, the city's newly appointed CPA manager, appeared to discuss redirecting a $40,000 Community Preservation Act stormwater award to the Medford Housing Authority, but no vote was taken.