CLAREMONT — The City Council took a step Wednesday toward possible demolition of the 140-foot Sullivan smokestack and pump house that has long been a safety concern for the city.
In a 5-4 vote, the council authorized interim City Manager John Bohenko to negotiate with a yet-unnamed individual who has reportedly told the city they will remove the two structures at no charge using city-owned equipment. The approved motion, made by Councilor Jonathan Stone, caps the cost of the project at $20,000.
“We have someone willing to do this for free if we provide the equipment for them,” Bohenko said at the beginning of the discussion right after Stone made a motion to direct the city manager to arrange for demolition.
Stone, who has been the most vocal supporter for tearing down both structures because of their condition, said it would be a mistake not to accept the offer.
“This is an opportunity that we are not going to ever have again to demo this with someone stepping up from the community to take it down,” Stone said. “$20,000 or less will get rid of this problem, and then (the city or a developer) can repurpose it after the brownfields cleanup.”
Voting for Stone’s motion were councilors William Limoges, Assistant Mayor Deb Matteau, Mayor Dale Girard and Spencer Batchelder, who was appointed Wednesday to fill a vacancy created when Rocky Beliveau resigned from the council earlier this summer.
Limoges and Girard reminded the council that the team from the University of Connecticut’s Technical Assistance Brownfields program told residents at a workshop in August to discuss potential development along the Sugar River off North Street that the pump house was dilapidated, in addition to being in the floodplain, and neither structure could be repurposed.
“It is out of the question to do anything with it,” Limoges said. “I just think it is such a liability right now. You clean it out, start fresh and open the whole thing up.”
Nefeli Bompoti, assistant research professor and program manager for TAB at UConn, told residents at the workshop that repairing the smokestack, built in the early 1900s and shut down in the 1970s, would be very expensive, and the only viable option is to maintain it for historical reasons.
“She (Bompoti) said unless you are saving it for historical reasons, that building is in very bad shape, and there is not much to save,” Girard said.
The council agreed the city has a liability problem at the site, with two councilors mentioning online videos of people filming themselves violating the no-trespassing signs and walking around the fence to the smokestack.
“The city will continue to have liability concerns with the property if we allow it to stay as it is,” Girard said.
Councilor Nick Koloski, who voted against the motion along with James Contois, Andrew O’Hearne and Matt Mooshian, favored tearing down the smokestack but was adamantly opposed to demolishing the pump house. Koloski said for the past eight years he has pushed to have the city advertise the entire stretch of city-owned parcels along the Sugar River to see if there is any interest.
“Developers are drawn to buildings and structures like this given their close proximity to the water and what could be done,” Koloski said. “I keep saying this: Let’s stop talking about it; let’s list it and let’s fish a little and see. I just don’t want to make a decision to go in haphazardly and rip it all down. If we had done that, we wouldn’t have any of those (renovated) mill buildings. I think it is a really bad decision to go after the building.”
“We can’t save everything.” Stone responded. “I think this is a deal we really can’t pass up.”
Bohenko said he would bring to the council any agreement before action is taken.
“I think it is prudent to come back to the council,” Bohenko said. “We have to make sure all insurances are in place. If there is any asbestos, that may change things. We need to get it in writing, and we need to make sure we understand the parameters on disposal of material and rental of equipment.
“I recommend coming back to the council, but getting somebody in place to commit to it is the intent of the motion,” Bohenko said.
At a meeting in the spring, several residents urged the city to consider grants and other sources to repair the structures. In an analysis of the chimney, a Connecticut firm said it would cost about $270,000 to restore it and between $140,000 and $170,000 to demolish it. The cost to remove the top 16 feet, where there is a hole from a lightning strike, and put a concrete cap on, was estimated at $37,000.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.
