On Friday, officials in Miami Township in Montgomery County are expected to celebrate the rededication ceremony of a neighborhood park. The park had been closed because of lead and arsenic contamination found at the site.
Layer Park is on Cordell Dr. in what some call the Huber South section of Miami Township.
The park reopens after a $3 million cleanup that began more than two and a half years ago -- after, officials say, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency first discovered toxins at the park.
In 2015, says John Morris, trustee president for the township, the EPA linked the lead and arsenic contamination to a now-gone skeet-shooting range.
The facility operated on the property from the 1930s to the 1950s.
“For whatever reasons, the EPA had not determined in prior visits that there was any hazards,” he says.
Morris says township officials are satisfied the park is once again safe for community use.
“We’ve taken out approximately 6,000 tons of soil, we took out a number of trees, planted new trees, installed all new playground equipment, gotten that land cleaned up and ready to be used by the community,” he says.
Township officials also replaced the parking lot, two half-court basketball courts, and installed two cooking grills. They also renovated an existing shelter house.
The rededication ceremony is set to take place in Layer Park from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Organizers say there will also be special activities for children, and township police and fire crews will be on hand.
