WILTON — The Board of Selectpersons officially accepted a $200,000 Brownfield cleanup grant for the Forster Mill site Tuesday.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency grant was awarded in May, with funds expected to arrive in October.

Town Manager Rhonda Irish has attended the first training session and is completing necessary paperwork for it. The town has been granted the authority to get started on the first phase of cleanup prior to the October award, she told the board.

The work begins with hiring an environmental consultant for the project.

Irish is drafting a request for proposals to seek the consultant. This needs Department of Environmental Protection and EPA approval, she said. The proposals may be ready to send out by the end of summer.

The board voted unanimously to allow Irish and Tiffany Maiuri, board chairperson, to sign any paperwork relating to the grant, rather than bringing it back to the board. 

The town foreclosed on the former woodenware and plasticware mill on Depot Street in 2015 for unpaid taxes after a four-year demolition effort stalled.

The grant requires a match of $40,000 from the town.

Selectperson Jeff Adams asked about the source of the matching amount and how much can be attributed to work done by the town.

Voters raised $25,000 last year and $50,000 this year for a demolition capital account to use on town properties, including the Depot Street mill, she said.

The three-year grant covers demolition work in parcel one, located near the front of the mill, Irish said. The amount of work the town can contribute will be determined by the consultant’s plans.

Nothing will move forward without coming before the board. The public will also be kept informed and given the opportunity to ask questions, she said.

The board also voted to spend $1,300 for more fencing to secure the site.

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