Published: 8/3/2022 5:11:41 AM
Modified: 8/3/2022 5:11:35 AM
LEBANON — The City Council will be asked to spend another $140,000 to complete the cleanup of the city’s old Public Works facility due to increased costs since the project began two years ago.
The council will hold a public hearing on the item during its meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the council chambers at City Hall.
Reclamation of the site, 20 Spencer St., began in 2020 as part of the city’s Capital Improvements Program.
The council approved the project to help sell the 1.92-acre property at a price tag of $1.5 million to Ken Braverman, owner of The Braverman Co. of Stowe, Vt. The real estate developer plans to build a four-story apartment building featuring 94 apartments and 4,500 square feet of retail and commercial space with 146 parking spots.
Braverman said Tuesday those plans have not changed despite the delay, though the start date was unclear. Braverman said the company would work with the city on a timeline for the project.
City Manager Shaun Mulholland said the sale would not be complete until all permits are in place.
“I would hope we would see construction next spring or summer,” Mulholland said.
The plans were put on hold in late 2020 due to contaminated soil found as the structures and storage tanks were removed.
According to Jay Cairelli, interim director of the Department of Public Works, soil tests conducted as required by state law found contamination near where petroleum storage tanks had been located.
“Test results came back, and the City was surprised to find out that the soils indicated low concentrations containing PCBs,” Cairelli wrote in a June memo requesting the supplemental funding.
Initial remediation called for the removal of 550 cubic yards, or 835 tons, of contaminated soil in 2021, Cairelli said. But during the removal process, NRC East Environmental Services found an additional 180 tons of soil contaminated with PCBs and 47 tons of soil contaminated with benzene.
That, along with price increases created by skyrocketing fuel prices and disposal rates, caused the price to increase by $140,000, Cairelli said in the memo.
Mulholland said the contaminated soil has been removed and disposed of and the perimeter of the property is now testing clean. The total cost for the cleanup was just under $1 million, Mulholland said.
Mulholland proposes moving $140,000 from the unassigned fund balance to the Capital Improvement Fund to complete the project.
The move would not have any impact on the tax rate, he said.
Darren Marcy can be reached at dmarcy@vnews.com or 603-727-3216.
