Community Meeting Will Discuss Closed Falmouth Baseball Fields

FALMOUTH, MA — Falmouth will host a community forum on May 22 to discuss the findings of the Trotting Park baseball field site investigation.

The community forum will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Lawrence Middle School Auditorium located at 113 Lakeview Ave.

A risk assessment report conducted on the now-closed John L. Neill Youth Baseball Complex fields in Falmouth found enough lead in the topsoil of one field to pose "an unacceptable risk to young children if repeated contact with soil beneath the existing turf was allowed."

However, the assessment stated that, although lead was found in the soil samples for fields one and two, play could have started again on those two fields with recommended topsoil testing before the season starts in the spring and again periodically during the season.

Town Manager Michael Renshaw said he believed conducting remediation on one field while allowing play on two others could be "problematic."

Groundwater monitoring wells have been installed at the complex by the town’s Licensed Site Professional (LSP), confirming groundwater flows east in the opposite direction from Long Pond.

In addition, both the raw water from Long Pond and the finished water after leaving the treatment plant are tested per MassDEP regulations and the tested samples come back as non-detectable or below the state’s Maximum Contaminant level (MCL) drinking water standards.

According to historical documents reviewed during the initial phase of the investigation, the baseball fields and surrounding area were used as a landfill for household waste and municipal waste in the 1940s and 1950s.

Speakers at the community forum will include:

• Falmouth Town Manager Michael Renshaw, who will provide an overview of actions being taken to protect public health and restore the site for youth baseball.

• A representative from Arcadis, an environmental consulting firm engaged by the town to conduct the site investigation, who will describe the testing procedures and findings.

• Falmouth Department of Public Works Director Peter McConarty, who will outline steps to be taken to prepare designs for remediation and reconstruction of the baseball fields.

Arrangements have been made for Falmouth Youth Baseball to use other fields in town during the 2025 season.