WILTON — Plans for abatement and demolition work at the Forster Mill site on Depot Street will be discussed during a community meeting Tuesday.
The meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. July 18 at the Town Office and will precede the regular meeting of selectpersons.
Members of Ransom Consulting Engineers, the environmental consultants for the project, will outline the proposed next steps, Town Manager Rhonda Irish said.
The project is similar to the one the town previously undertook at the former Wilton Tannery site and has similar processes that need to be done, including the public meeting, testings and a historical report, she said.
The plan includes asbestos abatement, removal of all items from the mill and the start of demolition. The work is to begin with the first section, including the standing wall, left from previous demolition, and moving to a second section, for as far as funds are available.
The remaining asbestos is within the edges of the roof, cement boards, cement paneling, flooring and insulated doors, she said.
Voters approved taking a no-interest loan of up to $300,000 during a special town meeting in June. The town has about $550,000 to start the estimated $1 million demolition.
The town recently learned an historical report is needed for the Maine Historic Preservation Commission.
Ransom consultants have hired a firm to do the work and the Department of Environmental Protection will pay the $25,000 cost, she said.
Irish started compiling photos and information for the commission last fall but a more complete report is now needed.
“We tend to look at what is left and what needs to come down and we forget the historical impact of the mill on the town,” she said.
At over a 100 years old, the site was a woolen mill then Forster Manufacturing, both significant employers for the area.
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At the Forster Mill site in Wilton, pink areas indicate asbestos at the roof edge around the building and a couple larger areas which tested positive for asbestos. A plan for asbestos abatement and demolition work will be discussed Tuesday at a public meeting.
Looking down on the roof of the Forster Mill site in Wilton, pink areas indicate asbestos at the roof edge around the perimeter of the building and a couple larger areas which tested positive for asbestos. A proposed plan for asbestos abatement and demolition work will be discussed Tuesday during a public meeting.
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