WILTON — The Forster Mill will eventually be torn down, but the town needs federal money to clean up hazards in the mill before that can happen, residents were told at a Tuesday public hearing.

Residents were briefed on the condition of the town-owned mill site and the plans Town Manager Rhonda Irish is working on to secure funding for environmental cleanup of the site and ultimate demolition of the building.

Fourteen residents turned out for the 7 p.m. public hearing at the Town Office. Tuesday’s hearing was the first of two that will be held about the cleanup of the dilapidated Forster Mill, which the town acquired through foreclosure last March. The second hearing is scheduled for Dec.15, when Irish expects to have the completed federal Environmental Protection Agency cleanup grant applications for people to view.

“Even though it may look to people as though nothing has occurred (on the site), there have been a lot of behind-the-scene activities that have been going on,” Irish said.

Those activities have included two assessment phases that the site has undergone as a part of its inclusion in the Brownfields program run by the EPA and the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Irish is working on drafting Brownfields grant applications to acquire money for the cleanup. If the town receives the funding, the money would be used for the asbestos abatement, hazardous waste removal and soil remediation on the site.

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The town ultimately is aiming for full demolition of the Depot Street building, which has been vacant since 2003. But before the mill can be torn down, an extensive environmental cleanup must be done to remove asbestos and hazardous waste.

The amount of funding the project is eligible for through the Brownfields program varies depending on the EPA’s assessment results. The phase one assessment was completed this summer, and the phase two assessment was completed earlier this fall.

The phase one assessment compiled an overall history of the site and a survey of asbestos levels within the building, as well as a hazardous materials inventory. The EPA-funded assessment discovered a significant amount of asbestos that Irish said would cost about $200,000 for abatement. The assessment also found containers of hazardous materials throughout this site as well as PCPs in the window caulking.

Additionally, Irish has requested that the EPA conduct an asbestos assessment on the mill’s roof, which also is believed to contain asbestos.

The phase two assessment focused on the underground cleanup that would need to be conducted on the site. Assessment results found that cleanup of the basement area, drains and an old bunker would cost about $70,000.

Irish is working on drafting applications for three $200,000 brownfields grants that, if awarded, would be used for asbestos abatement, hazardous waste removal, soil remediation and any other environmental cleanup the site requires.

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Brownfields grants do not include demolition of the building, but Irish is going to argue in her applications that because of the high level of asbestos, it would be difficult to remove the asbestos without tearing the building down entirely, especially if the roof also contains asbestos.

Each of the three $200,000 grants requires a $40,000 funding match from the town. However, Irish is going to request a waiver of the matched funding requirements.

“They may not award it, but it doesn’t hurt your chances of getting the grant.” Irish said. “Depending on how it goes, we may have to put out funds from our own pockets.”

Brownfields grant applications are due by Dec. 18. Irish said that the EPA is expected to announce in April which applicants will get funding for their projects.

The Board of Selectmen said that if the applications are not accepted, they will make it their mission to find other means to clean up the site and demolish the building. The town has $25,000 set aside for the cleanup and demolition of the mill.

“It has been talked about more than once that the town may need to pursue a bond to take that thing down,” Selectman D. Scott Taylor said. “It is the intent of the board to take this thing down and be done with it.”

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The vacant mill has been a focus on the town’s redevelopment effort for the last six years. The site was taken over by the town last spring through foreclosure after its owner, Adam Mack, of Wilton Recycling LLC, failed to comply with a 2013 lawsuit brought by the town seeking an oder of demolition.

Irish made several references to the success of the Wilton Tannery cleanup project during the hearing. The former tannery on U.S. Route 2 went through a similar $200,000 Brownfields cleanup process that was completed this summer.

The site is now owned by a Wilton selectman and local businessman, John Black, who is working to redevelop the former tannery as the Wilson Stream Business Park.

Lauren Abbate — 861-9252

labbate@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @Lauren_M_Abbate


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