WILTON – A decision to extend the deadline for Tannery proposals until May has already resulted in additional queries, with five potential developers requesting additional information.
Earlier this month, the Selectboard voted to extend the deadline until May 1, after receiving no responses to a previous request for proposals that concluded on Jan. 2. The property, which consists of 15 acres of land adjacent to Route 2 and a 62,000 square foot steel and concrete building, has been owned by the town following its 2010 foreclosure.
Brownfield assessments identified elevated levels of chromium, particularly near dump sites of hides, scrap metal and other material, as well as a large buried oil tank, still containing an amount of No. 6 fuel. The following feasibility study, conducted with the assistance of Maine Department of Environmental Protection, recommended consolidating the hides and other debris, pulling that material back from adjacent Wilson Stream and capping it off. Meanwhile, the oil tank was removed and asbestos was abated from the 1959 tannery building, much of which is falling apart.
The town received two grants to complete the rest of clean up: a $200,000 federal Environmental Protection Agency grant and a $150,000 state Department of Economic & Community Development grant. Local matches were provided through mostly in-kind contributions, such the trucking and labor required to remove the piles of trash and debris on the site.
With the board previously having indicated that its preference was to return the property to the tax rolls, the board submitted a request for proposals in November 2014. The board requested that would-be developers include a plan to redevelop the property and demolish the tannery building. After receiving no response over the holidays, the board unanimously moved to extend the deadline through the spring so the property could be viewed without being covered with snow.
Wednesday, Town Manager Rhonda Irish said that five requests for more information were made to the town following the extension. In every case, more information was sent to the inquiring parties. They were also directed to Ransom Consulting Inc., the environmental engineering firm that developed and oversaw the clean-up plan.
