Portsmouth neighbors urge city to act on metal yard. Mayor: 'We will do a better job.'

PORTSMOUTH — A group of Jones Avenue residents showed up at City Hall to implore the City Council to address what they see as noise, traffic and safety issues caused by the operation of a scrap metal facility in their neighborhood.

Jones Avenue resident Tom Kelly pointed to “many inappropriate activities taking place at the scrapyard on Jones Ave., Mac Metals. They’re incompatible with the health and well-being of the community surrounding it. And they’re incompatible with good governance.”

Mac Metals, formerly known as Wentworth Scrap Metals, is located at 246 Jones Ave. in a largely residential neighborhood.

Kelly read a letter to the council he sent to city officials earlier in the year, referencing what he described as “an intolerable and worsening situation” in the neighborhood.

“Since 2017, the amount of noise and air pollution, along with traffic, has put an unacceptable burden on this street and this neighborhood,” Kelly said during the public comment portion of Monday’s meeting.

The group of neighbors who spoke at Monday’s meeting pointed to the operations of the scrap metal yard, which was purchased by Bob MacDonald in 2017, according to city officials.

'Horrific noise' and danger among many complaints

Neighbors have said problems at the site increased after MacDonald bought the property and hit a new unacceptable level this spring when he started using the site as a laydown area for the Union Street sewer separation project his company is working on for the city.

“The noise is often horrific. It sounds like a mechanized armored division of tanks scraping metal across the paved surface all throughout the day, and we have to flee inside to get away from this noise,” Kelly said.

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Although Kelly said he sent the letter to several city staffers, “it was never acknowledged in any way, let alone answered.”

Jones Avenue resident Mike McGovern told the council the scrap metal operation is “dangerous. ... The volume and excessive nature of activity, particularly over the summer, was definitely dangerous for the kids and families who live there.'

Like other neighborhood residents, McGovern questioned the city’s decision to allow MacDonald to use his property as a laydown area for the sewer separation project.

“That decision, because it was deemed to be in the interest of the city, was done at the detriment of our neighborhood,” he said.

McGovern saw a “massive 18-wheeler truck coming down the street” and pulling into the scrap metal yard just this past weekend.

Like other neighborhood residents, McGovern maintained that “if anyone were to look at this objectively, there is nonstop usage beyond the scrap metal yard that’s happening there every single day.”

“The enforcement of it is unclear and not happening,” he added.

Deputy City Attorney Trevor McCourt previously explained the use of the property as a scrap metal business is a “lawful, preexisting nonconforming use.”

But MacDonald is not supposed to use the site for other purposes, except for the laydown area because he’s conducting work on a city project.

McGovern told the council “something does need to change. It really feels as though the concerns of our neighborhood are not being heard."

Jones Avenue resident Craig Willever reported he has witnessed a “significant increase in truck and vehicle traffic on Jones Avenue.”

“My concerns include increased noise level, environmental damage, and pedestrian safety,” he told the council. “Since 2017, there’s been significant increase of construction vehicles on Jones Ave., dump trucks carrying soil, rock, cement, asphalt and other debris.”

He’s also seen “front loaders, large snow plowing equipment, and 18-wheelers going up and down the road,” from the facility.

“The majority of traffic is non-scrap, excavation materials,” he added.

Willever worries about pedestrian safety on the street, which “is a popular destination for walkers, dog walkers, families with strollers, nursing home residents in wheelchairs and bicycles.”

He reminded the council there are no sidewalks on Jones Avenue.

Lens Avenue resident Joshua Schaer said he couldn’t explain to the council “how loud the noise is …from all the trucks coming down” Jones Avenue.

“It’s completely unsafe for kids to be on bikes, it’s shockingly, shockingly loud,” he said Monday night. “When you put your baby down to sleep and they startle awake when a dumpster gets dropped, 12, 20, 30 houses away.”

“I hope you can all take a moment and put yourselves in our shoes here,” he added.

Owner working with city

Attorney Colby Gamester, who represents MacDonald, said the scrap metal yard owner “operates within the limits of his business.”

“He has worked closely with city staff whenever there are issues, concerns or complaints,” Gamester said in a recent interview.

He added that any increase in traffic is tied “to the city project at Union and Middle streets.”

“Mr. MacDonald has met with city staff regarding this specific aspect of the project to discuss mitigation steps to put in place when construction resumes in the spring,” he said.

The goal of those discussions, Gamester said, is to “continue the city project without affecting the Jones Avenue neighborhood as much.”

Work on the project is “slated to end before the holidays,” and Gamester anticipates “traffic will be significantly reduced.”

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Mayor vows city will respond

Reached Tuesday, Mayor Deaglan McEachern stressed MacDonald will not be allowed to use his Jones Avenue property as a laydown area when the sewer separation project resumes next year.

“We’re going to relocate where the laydown is going to be from the construction project,” McEachern said. “I do expect to see a dramatic reduction in any kind of truck traffic there.”

Asked about the turnout of Jones Avenue residents at Monday’s meeting, McEachern said, “I’m always happy when people come to City Hall even when it’s not to say we’re doing a great job.

“What we were seeing last night is folks that were frustrated with the lack of engagement before this from a standpoint of being a part of the process,” McEachern said. “I don’t think we’ve done as good a job communicating with the neighbors as we should have.”

And he pledged, "we will do a better job monitoring” operations at the scrap metal yard “and communicating with residents.”

“Our goal is to make sure we give as much information as possible,” he added. “This has the attention of the city, and we will be making sure the ordinance is followed.”

He added he understands the frustration of neighborhood residents and said he did not take the turnout lightly, “especially when it came a week before Christmas when I’m sure people had a lot of other things to do.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth residents urge city to act on Jones Ave. scrap metal yard