Presentation by Jim Goldsmith
Board of Selectmen's Meeting
Approved
Committee members in attendance: Jim Goldsmith,
Bob Levin, Craig Edwards, David Gordon, Marcia Leibman,
Marilyn Kahn, and Melissa Mills
After thanking the Board for inviting him to
update the Selectmen on the status of the committee's work thus far, Jim
Goldsmith provided an overview of the committee's concerns about abating the
Wilber building and clarified several points regarding redevelopment of the
building and the site.
In general, Jim conveyed that the committee
believes that the building should be abated sooner than later. Beyond
that, he noted that estimates for removing hazardous materials in 2002
were in the approximately $300,000 range and that, with inflation since then,
were now likely in the approximately $350,000 range.
In response to a question on this issue, Ben Puritz said he believes that the building itself is
insured for replacement value and that he wasn't sure about coverage
for hazardous waste removal; he will check the Town's
insurance policy to confirm the details. In response to a question from
Selectman Bill Heitin regarding how the cost increase
since 2002 has been "tested," Jim said that conversations with three
developers suggested that costs had risen roughly to the level that he
cited. Bill urged the Wilber Redevelopment Committee to move forward with
a "cost with, cost without" clause concerning abatement in the RFP
that the committee is developing.
Both Bill Heitin and
Selectman Joe Roach agreed that it makes sense to wait until the Fall 2005 Town Meeting to address the issue of
abatement. If responses to the RFP indicate that it would be financially
preferable for the town to abate the building itself, rather than have a
developer do it, then the two Selectmen would be willing to support an
abatement article at that time. Ben added that work on an abatement
contract could proceed almost immediately upon approval and that, even though
weather conditions wouldn't be optimal, could still proceed fairly easily in
November and December 2005.
In response to a question from Jim, the
Selectmen confirmed that they would like to see the committee develop a plan
for redeveloping the entire site, not just for redeveloping the building.
The Selectmen also expressed a strong preference for maintaining the building,
if possible, but noted that they would be willing to change their feelings on
this issue, depending upon how developers respond to the RFP.
After Jim outlined some of the key points that
will be featured in the RFP, the Selectmen urged the committee to move forward
expeditiously in working with a consultant to flesh out the details of a
narrative. They also noted that they will vote on the issue officially on
Finally, the Selectmen noted that the Wilber
property is the most viable -- and essentially the only -- remaining site under
consideration for siting the proposed septic system
to serve the
Repsectfully submitted,
David Gordon