SAHUARITA, Ariz. (KGUN) — After months of closures due to hazardous materials, the fields at Anamax, North Santa Cruz and Quail Creek Veterans-Municipal parks in Sahuarita are finally open to the public.
In November, the parks were closed when dangerous debris, including glass and nails, was discovered in the compost used for reseeding the fields.
“It really was a situation that nobody had seen or heard of before,” said Devin Stalder, Director of Sahuarita Parks and Recreation. “So we were kind of out on the adventure on our own.”
The cleanup effort, led by the Sahuarita Parks and Recreation Department, was a long and challenging process. The department worked closely with Grow Well, a Phoenix-based compost manufacturer, to address the issue.
The manufacturer recommended using hydro-vac trucks—powerful vacuum systems typically used for industrial cleanup—to remove the contaminated material.
“It was really like vacuuming your carpet, but dialed to ten,” said Stalder, describing the cleanup process. The effort took two months, and while the fields are now safe, questions remain about how the hazardous materials ended up in the compost in the first place.
“We asked the question, but Grow Well shifted the focus to cleanup,” Stalder explained. “I’m not sure we’re going to get a clear answer on how the material got mixed in.”
When asked if the town would continue the relationship Grow Well, Stalder said that the compost manufacturer was contracted with a local company, Green Valley Decorative Rock. He says the town remains confident in the company but is unsure of what the relationship with Grow Well will look like in the future.
Stalder says that consistent transparency with the public was key to keeping positive relationships with the community.
“We were out here two months through the holidays and through that process we had meetings with our sports groups just to see what they were looking for in terms of safe play,” Stalder said.
He says that after Anamax field four was completed, the team performed a walk-through at night, giving them better visibility of potential metals in the ground. The team then determined that the cleaning was sufficient to move onto the other fields.
Residents are relieved to have their parks back. Fabiola Rowland, a frequent visitor to North Santa Cruz Park, watched the cleanup process firsthand.
“We actually saw them cleaning it the other day with a vacuum cleaner,” she said. “It was exciting for my kids to see—vacuuming the grass.”
She recalled her surprise at hearing about the closures. “I was shocked,” she said. “I don’t know how something like that could happen.”
While the mystery remains unsolved, Stalder and his team are taking steps to prevent future incidents. They plan to implement a stricter inspection process for any new compost used on the fields. The new protocol will include bucket checks and wetting the material to detect potential contaminants, such as darker-colored metal pieces.
The closures delayed Sahuarita’s fall reseeding schedule, but reseeding will resume this spring in preparation for summer. Despite the setback, the Parks and Recreation Department is focused on maintaining safe and enjoyable spaces for the community.
Stalder feels confident in the cleaning process this time around, evident by the lack of calls received from the public.
“It’s been open about a week now and we haven’t had any user complaints,” he said. “On the first go, we had complaints immediately so I think that’s a good sign.”
He says the department will also lay down a sand and grass mix, similar to a golf course, which will help bury any remaining materials that may still be hidden in the ground.
For families like Rowland’s, having their favorite park open again is a welcome relief. “We love this park,” she said. “We’re happy to be back.”
Stalder has similar feelings but says there’s still work to be done.
“We wanted these fields clean, safe, back open for play,” he said. “Now we’ll go through a process of really figuring out the impact to the town looks like.”
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Joel Foster is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9 who previously worked as an English teacher in both Boston and the Tucson area. Joel has experience working with web, print and video in the tech, finance, nonprofit and the public sectors. In his off-time, you might catch Joel taking part in Tucson's local comedy scene. Share your story ideas with Joel at joel.foster@kgun9.com, or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram or X.
