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Page 8 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2021 Public health nurse warns people to “stay vigilant” in spite of declining COVID-19 cases in Saugus By Mark E. Vogler A fter experiencing a week without any newly confirmed COVID-19 cases, the town has reported four new cases over the past eight days. “As of today, Saugus has had 4,216 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 73 confirmed deaths since 03/01/2020,” Town Manager Scott C. CrabGARDENS | FROM PAGE 6 tree said. “I’m very supportive and glad to be a part of this,” Crabtree said The Ballard School is just one of five former Saugus Public tree wrote in an email to The Saugus Advocate yesterday. But four cases in over a week is hardly a concern for town officials after yesterday’s briefing of the Board of Health by town Public Health Nurse Teresa Riley-Singh. “We’re definitely in a good place,” Riley-Singh said during a virtual meeting conducted via Zoom videoconferencing. “It’s still out there,” she addSchools building properties that will be the subject of study for possible reuse in town over the next few years. Saugus Public Schools and school administration have consolidated into three buildings – largely because of the construction and Law Offices of Terrence W. Kennedy 512 Broadway, Everett • Criminal Defense • Personal Injury • Medical Malpractice Tel: (617) 387-9809 Cell: (617) 308-8178 twkennedylaw@gmail.com ed, stressing that town residents needed to be vigilant in practicing safe precautions because “the numbers are rising in other states” as there are outbreaks of variants. There were only eight newly confirmed COVID-19 cases reported last month, a huge drop from the 37 COVID-19 cases reported in June of last year. Riley-Singh noted that Sauopening of the new Saugus Middle-High School and renovations of the Veterans Memorial School and the Belmonte School. The School Department no longer has a need for three elementary schools: the Waybright Elementary School, the Lynnhurst Elementary School and the Oaklandvale Elementary School. In addition, the school administrative staff have moved out of the Roby School Administration Building on Main Street and into the Belmonte School. The town will eventually consider what to do with these properties. Tearing down the school would be “huge expense” Town officials generally concede that the old Ballard School is not worth saving, but shouldn’t be sold because the town needs to hold on to its limited number of vacant properties. “I think the biggest expense that people don’t realize is abating what’s here,” Crabtree said of gus reached its monthly peak with 1,095 cases reported last December. She emphasized that it’s still important for residents to get vaccinated if they haven’t already because of the spread of the Delta variant and other strains of COVID-19. But even with a vaccination, “you’re not 100 percent safe,” Riley-Singh added. “I encourage people who go into food stores to have their the future challenges ahead before the Ballard Gardens could become a reality. “It’s a huge expense just to bring the building down,” the town manager said. “The conceptual stuff (feasibility studies and engineering) can happen sooner than later. The demolition part is 10-fold the cost of the project,” Crabtree said, referring to the huge expense of removing asbestos and other potentially hazardous materials during the demolition. Manoogian noted that the Ballard School was built in 1911. “It’s older than the Titanic,” he said, referring to the famous White Star Line ocean liner that sank after hitting an iceberg four days into its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City on April 15, 1912. More than 1,500 lost their lives in the disaster. Steve Rich, a retired architect and engineer who prepared a sketch of Ballard Gardens, said a key issue for the project’s planners to consider is if it were open all night or closed at 10 p.m. Keeping the park open at night would require illumination. But Crabtree said that lighting would be essential for security purposes and protecting the town’s investment even if the park closed at night. “Being an ex-cop [on the Saugus Police Department for 11 years], I can tell you that having lighting allows you to drive around in a cruiser to see it,” Crabtree said. Crabtree told the group his office stands ready to support the project however it can. But if residents were to decide they want flowers for a community garden, the town’s Department of Public Works would not be maintaining the garden. Volunteers would be needed to maintain the garden, he said. Laura Eisener of the Saugus Garden Club, a landscape design consultant, said she would like to see a fairly simple plant selection that would involve “very low maintenance.” “There children wear masks,” she said. Public Health Director John Fralick said 62 percent of Saugus residents have been vaccinated as of July 1. Board of Health Chair William Heffernan said there is no reason for anyone who hasn’t had a vaccination to walk into the local CVS and receive one. “I had to basically drag my 23-year-old son to the CVS to get his shots,” he said. are quite a few things that require a minimum of maintenance. There’s going to be some weeding necessary,” Eisener said. Who’s going to maintain Ballard Gardens? How the park would be maintained was a concern of a few residents, particularly Margie Berkowitch, who has complained in the past about the unsightly mess of litter and leaves strewn around the Ballard School grounds. “My issue would be maintenance. The town doesn’t do a good job of maintenance,” Berkowitch said. Brenda Sweetland, a Dudley Street resident, said she prefers to see the vacant building be used as a schoolhouse again, adding “I know my property values would double.” As a resident who lives across the street from the school, Sweetland said, she has an issue with drugs in the neighborhood. She referred to one incident near her house where she observed “two kids fighting over drugs.” “There was a gun on the ground and I have a kid in my house,” she said. Two Precinct 10 Town Meeting members who were unable to attend the community meeting offered letters of support. Darren Ring called the Ballard Gardens proposal “the best possible idea for our area.” “At the end of the day, it is my hope that this site will become an attractive public and green space for many of the residents of East Saugus, especially those who live nearby to it,” Town Meeting Member Martin J. Costello wrote in his letter. Manoogian said he was encouraged by the meeting, noting that it was very productive. “Fantastic turnout by neighbors of the Ballard School,” he wrote on the Ballard School Study Committee Facebook page. “We heard great feedback and questions about process, security, design, property values and landscaping

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