Redding Pilot
Redding
Grant for lagoon remediation heads to Aug. 9 public hearing
Aug 4, 2007

by SUSAN WOLF
pilot@thereddingpilot.com

To remain eligible for a federal Small Cities program grant to help cover the cost of remediating the lagoon site at 15 Main St., the town must once again conduct a public hearing on the application.

That hearing is next Thursday, Aug. 9, at town hall at 7:30 p.m.

The lagoon is on the former Gilbert & Bennett wire mill site off Route 107.

Although the town conducted a public hearing on the application in 2005 in compliance with the grant program, because of the lapse in time it must now conduct another public hearing.

The Small Cities Block Grant program is administered through the state Department of Economic Development.

The grant is aimed at the cleanup of the former mill site, which is being redeveloped into a pedestrian-friendly village.

A mix of uses, including residential and commercial, is planned at the site.

The grant amount will now be $775,000, instead of $600,000, to take into account inflation and assorted fees, according to First Selectman Natalie Ketcham. No town funds are involved, Ms. Ketcham recently told the selectmen.

The lagoon site is owned by Georgetown Redevelopment Corp., a nonprofit corporation. GRC and Georgetown Land Development Co. are co-developers of the 55-acre former mill site. GLDC owns all of the land at the site north of Route 107; GRC owns the lagoon site.

The remediation plan for the site is to cap the metal-impacted soil with appropriate monitoring and institutional controls. GRC has a $200,000 federal Environmental Protection Agency grant through its Brownfields Cleanup Grant Program, in addition to a $100,000 Targeted Brownfields Assessment Grant from the EPA. The corporation also has cash it received when it took title to the property.

The remainder to remediate the site and cover the grant administration fees would come from the proposed grant.

At the Aug. 9 hearing, Larry Wagner of Wagner Associates, a company that works with municipalities in the state to access public funds for projects, will be available to provide information.

If there is no opposition to the grant application at the hearing, said Ms. Ketcham, the selectmen would pass a resolution at their August meeting to authorize her to proceed with the application process.

At Monday’s meeting, the selectmen approved a fair housing resolution and a fair housing statement as required by the grant process.



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