MONTAGUE — It was determined that the Southworth building has no sprinkler system, no alarm system, the electricity was shut off, the natural gas was shut off and a water main that had ruptured is now capped to the one of the sprinkler systems, after an inspection on July 30.
In the board of selectmen meeting on Monday, Aug. 6, Turners Falls Fire Chief John Zellmann updated the board about the state of the property and suggested the board take action.
The selectboard agreed to schedule a joint meeting with the Turners Falls Fire District Prudential Committee, town council and others to discuss how to approach legal action and begin the process.
Zellmann, Deputy Chief Leon Ambo, State Fire Marshall John Wood and a representative from David Mika company, inspected the Southworth property.
There is also hazardous waste and materials inside the building, according to Zellmann. There has also been reports of graffiti in the tunnel of the building.
The company abruptly closed in Aug. of 2017, laying off about 60 employees in Turners Falls immediately after the decision to close.
Zellmann issued a letter to John Leness and David Mika of the Southworth Company informing them of the inspection and ordering the necessary repairs be made to the building.
In the meeting, Zellmann told the board because the company did not maintain the heat in the winter, the pipes froze, which caused the sprinklers to freeze and a water main broke.
Mika worked with the water company because they told the town they had no money, according to Zellmann.
As of April 9, the Southworth company owed a total of $322,309.93 to the town.
“The building is unsecured, in my opinion, and abandoned,” said Zellmann. “We’re heading down a road I didn’t want to head down and I think we’re there.”
He said he has asked Acting Montague Police Chief Christopher Williams to increase patrols of the area.
Zellmann said conversations were started with town council to take legal action against the company.
Kuklewicz said while it’s unfortunate that the town has to deal with the situation, they need to be proactive.
“I think we need to come out with some strong and swift action.” Kuklewicz said. “I understand there is a bit of a question here for me, really the Turners Falls Fire District should initiate as far as legally.”
Zellmann said he could fine the Southworth Company $500, but he felt it would be in vain.
“A $500 fine doesn’t seem like anything; they’re not paying their bills anyway,” Zellmann said. “I also got to look is the town’s potential of acquiring this building, I hate to say that, but it may go down the same road as Strathmore.”
Kuklewicz said the building is not something that could be purchased and made operational within a short period of time because it has been closed for so long.
“The longer that it isn’t in operation as a paper mill, the harder it becomes,” Kuklewicz said.
The board planned to schedule a meeting for the week of Aug. 21 .
“Let’s do what we can do as aggressively as we can,” said Kuklewicz. “The way I look at it is we need to protect the residents and protect the property, if we can, so there could be some productive use for it and if we do this, it might be its best chance.”