WILTON — An environmental assessment report on the Forster Mill property provides a rough estimate of $500,000 for the abatement and removal of remaining asbestos at the Depot Street site, Town Manager Rhonda Irish told the Board of Selectpersons Tuesday.
After the town foreclosed on the property in March, they were approved for a Maine Department of Environmental Protection Brownfields Program phase 1 assessment and hazardous building material inventory.
The town received the lengthy phase 1 report Tuesday shortly before the meeting.
The inventory was expected to tell whether there are still pockets of asbestos or lead around the site and give the town an estimate for abatement and disposal of the substances, Irish previously said.
While they suspect there is likely asbestos in the roof, access and safety issues kept them from testing it, she said. She was unsure how much of the estimate would cover roof asbestos removal.
Removal costs of items such as lead paint and fluorescent lights were included in the estimate. More testing is needed on stains from paints and dyes used by the mill and barrels of items left behind, she said.
Although there was little time to read the report before the meeting, Irish explained that the phase 1 report indicated the need for a phase 2 assessment, based on research and what engineers saw during a recent inspection.
“It is a snapshot of what they saw,” she said.
DEP will continue with the phase 2 analysis, after which the town can apply for grants to help with abatement, removal and demolition on the property, she said.
In May, the board accepted a redevelopment proposal for the property at 833 Route 2 from brothers John Black of Rocky Hill Landscaping and James Black of Black Acres Firewood for a purchase price of $1.
Since May, the terms of the sale have been under negotiation while waiting for a report of the conditions on the property as it is a Brownfields hazardous site, Irish said after the meeting.
Terms were discussed in executive session. The board voted after the session to sign the agreement.
“We are getting closer to the sale,” she said. “The final closing on the property should occur soon.”
abryant@sunmediagroup.net
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