CLAREMONT — The city will take advantage of a free program through the University of Connecticut to brainstorm potential redevelopment uses and a site assessment of a stretch of former industrial city property along the north side of the Sugar River.
At Wednesday’s meeting, the City Council unanimously approved the technical assistance for a brownfields program from the university, which will bring engineering interns to Claremont for 10 weeks beginning in mid-May.
“This will really help us because we do have brownfields issues, so it is information we need,” Claremont Planning and Development Director Nancy Merrill told the council.
The property includes the Sullivan smokestack and adjacent pump house, which have not been used in decades and have fallen into disrepair. On Wednesday, the council also approved a motion to solicit bids to remove the top 16 feet of the 146-foot tower, install a temporary cap and demolish the entire structure.
At a previous council meeting, several residents urged city officials to look into grants and other sources to save the smokestack and the pump house. On Wednesday, Assistant Mayor Deb Matteau assured residents that seeking bids did not mean the council has agreed to demolish the smokestack.
“We just want the information,” Matteau said, who added that local contractors have expressed interest in the job of removing the damaged 16 feet, which was estimated to cost $16,000 by Structural, the Connecticut company that conducted an analysis of the property.
“The top 16 feet does need to come down,” Merrill said. “The hole is getting bigger.”
Merrill said the money for the work is available but another $19,000 is needed for a permanent concrete cap, which prompted councilor Nick Koloski to ask about an estimate for a temporary cap.
The properties outlined in the report to the council begin to the east, at the site of the former coal gasification plant across the river from the Common Man Restaurant. That parcel was remediated several years ago. The other parcels include the Visitor’s Center Green down to the Sullivan smokestack.
“We want to look at that whole side of the river,” Merrill said. “Maybe a park is the best way to go.”
A phase I and phase II brownfields assessment of the site has been done, and the next step is to look at options.
“Is redevelopment possible or should it be a green space?” Merrill said Thursday. “(UConn) will help us figure out what we can do.”
Michael McCluskey, brownfields coordinator with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, said Claremont is making a good decision to move forward with developing a vision for the property by taking advantage of the UConn program. McCluskey said in addition to an annual grant competition through the federal Environmental Protection Agency for brownfields remediation, the large infrastructure bill approved by Congress last year will also have money for brownfields cleanup.
“This will be a ripe time to apply for grants,” he said.
The council did not seem interested in the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program through the state to save the smokestack and pump house, as it requires a 50% match by the city and would likely also require a historic structure report, which would be funded by LCHIP.
“We have a lot better uses for that money,” Councilor Jonathan Stone said about the required match.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.
