WILTON — Selectpersons awarded a bid of $26,895 Tuesday for asbestos abatement at the former Forster Manufacturing mill.

The town received four bids for the work ranging from a top bid of $78,500 to the lowest bidder, EnviroVantage, which won the job, Town Manager Rhonda Irish said.

Ransom Consulting, an environmental adviser for the town, estimated the work would take about a month and cost about $30,000, she said.

EnviroVantage, an environmental and remedial contractor based in New Hampshire, was hired by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection to do asbestos abatement work in the boiler room at the Forster site in May, Irish said.  There were no issues with the work, she said.

With selectpersons’ approval, the contract could be signed and the work could start next week, but EnviroVantage is considering putting in a bid for the second contract involving demolition work. Those bids will be opened Dec. 1, she said.

EnviroVantage is waiting on the second bid before signing the contract and may start the abatement work on Dec. 4, she said. 

The contract requires a substantial amount of the abatement work to be done by Jan. 12 and all of the abatement work to be done by Jan. 26.

Selectpersons will review the bids for demolition and award a bid at their Dec. 19 meeting.

The demolition work could start as early as Jan. 22 with three months to complete it, once started. The work must start no later than April 30, Irish said.

In other business, selectpersons unanimously agreed to send a letter of support for a proposed project application submitted by Central Maine Power. 

Selectpersons were previously asked to sign a letter of support for CMP’s proposed bids to develop a transmission line from Quebec to Lewiston for power for Massachusetts.

The line would have a small footprint in Wilton, John Carroll of CMP told selectpersons at their last meeting.

It is part of an existing CMP corridor off Route 156 and involves less than a mile in Wilton, board Chairwoman Tiffany Maiuri said.

Selectpersons decided to sign the letter, drafted by CMP, after some wording was changed.

The Planning Board has approved one new downtown business, Beyond Shoe Repair, and will consider another at its Dec. 7 meeting, Irish said.

Upon approval of the business, that makes six new businesses that have opened downtown in the past year, she said.

The board also approved a new business on Route 2 at its meeting last week, she said. On a lot next to Dollar General, Loggers Den plans to open in December and provide live-edge timber boards, firewood and craft wood sales, she said.

abryant@sunmediagroup.net

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