NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The city and airport hangar renovation project general contractor will clean up insulation littering surrounding properties and install preventive measures to contain the debris.

 

Interim Airport Manager and Administrative Officer Katherine Eade said that airport abutters have contacted the city over insulation littering their properties from a city-owned hangar currently being renovated. 

 

"City employees and contractors have been to the residence to clean up the yard frequently over the past week or two," she said in an email correspondence. "But with the wind and the unenclosed state of the hangar, we had to come up with another plan to keep it from blowing over every time the wind comes up."

 

The city is renovating an older hangar on the North Adams  Airport campus, and over the past few weeks, the city and general contractor DJ Tierney Jr. have demolished parts of a city-owned hangar, preparing it for renovation. After removing the siding from the hangar, the insulation was free to blow.

 

Hawthorne Ave. resident Scott Balawender took to social media to air his concerns about the decades-old insulation littering his yard noting that although the city has made efforts to clean up the mess, the insulation just blows right back in.

 

He said his biggest worry was pets coming into contact with the insulation. He also had environmental concerns.

 

"My main concern is for our animals and the wildlife around us including the Hoosic River," he said, adding that insulation was accumulating in a nearby culvert. 

 

Eade admitted that the debris is hard to contain and said the city, working with the general contractor plan to increase their efforts. 

 

She said the general contractor plans to obtain and install some debris netting on the fence.

 

"They expect this will prevent additional material from blowing through the fence when the winds pick up," she said. 

 

She added that this week, a bucket truck will be on-site to remove all of the insulation from the building.

 

"That work should be completed in the next couple of days," Eade said.  

 

After that, Eade said impacted abutters will be contacted to determine the best way to handle any additional cleanup. 

 

She said the airport engineering consultant, Stantec, has located a special yard vac that should help in clean up.