Acquisition of 33-acre former Dow Chemical property for conservation and recreation
Description:
'May 8, 2000 was the night the Wayland Board of Selectman signed the paperwork and gave Dow Chemical Company corporate official Jerry Ring a check for 1.7 million dollars to acquire the 33 acres at 412 Commonwealth Road, where Dow Chemical had operated a research facility for about 25 years. Today it's the Loker Conservation and Recreation Area. The town's purchase of the property, with a deed restriction for conservation and recreation uses, culminated a decade of contentious events. From 1993 to 2000, the property was the subject of a hazardous waste cleanup. A case study was published by the John Snow Institute in 2004 telling the story of how confrontation eventually led to collaboration, resulting in a win-win outcome. In the summer of 1999, the neighbors' group, that Linda Segal led, asked Dow Chemical to please provide a community relations person because communications had broken down. Dow's Jerry Ring contacted the neighbors in September 1999 offering to work with the town to resolve differences. Jerry and Linda developed a trusting working relationship and agreed on a plan to successfully complete the cleanup and acquisition of the site by the town of Wayland. In the photo, taken in the Selectmen's Meeting Room after all the legal formalities, Linda is holding the key to the front gate of the Commonwealth Road (Route 30) property, a symbolic gift from Jerry and Dow Chemical Company.'
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