MONTAGUE — Town meeting members approved the budget and voted on Saturday to clean up asbestos at the Strathmore Mill complex, a first step to prepare the buildings for either demolition or development.
Voters at the annual town meeting approved a $22.97M budget, setting aside $385,00 for abating hazardous materials at the Strathmore Mill complex. The town also approved an engineering study to investigate which of the mill buildings are beyond repair and destined for demolition, while also pinpointing which of the historical buildings are worth preserving.
By getting rid of the asbestos now, the town could prevent a financial headache in the future, town planner Walter Ramsey said at the meeting. If there is a fire or the roof of one of the mill buildings collapses, the town will have a much greater expense to deal with, he said.
The selectboard and finance committee members explained that no matter in what direction the town decides to go with the future of the mill buildings, the asbestos has to go. “Regardless of whether the buildings come down or there is a booming condo there in 10 years, we have to get rid of the hazardous materials,” said Chairman Micheal Nelson. “We cannot do anything until the abatement.”
In March, the town accepted a proposal from Obear Construction Co. to build condos in the one standalone building, with about 32,280 square feet, which leaves the town officials wondering what to do with the remaining 237,720 square feet of the long-vacant complex. The demolition of some of the remaining mill buildings could make room for additional parking for the proposed 16 to 20 condos, said Ramsey.
The town voted to appropriate $659,356 to pay the Franklin County Technical School for Montague’s share of the assessment for the operation of the school.
Montague set aside $8.85M for the Gill-Montague Regional School District, with $125,000 raised from free cash and $8.7M raised from taxes.
The town also approved $10,000 for the repair or replacement of leaky pipes at Hillcrest Elementary School.
Residents also approved $35,000 for updating the police radios. Police Chief Charles “Chip” Dodge explained to the audience the needs of the department. “Our current radio system is getting old. Officer safety is a huge concern,” he said at the meeting. “There are parts of town where officers can not communicate with us through our portable radio service.”
The town also approved $44,700 to investigate constructing a new Department of Public Works building at Sandy Lane.
This past year, the town completed a feasibility study that found that the building at 500 Avenue A in Turners Falls is no longer adequate for the DPW. Department employees agree that the building, built in 1948, has exceeded its useful life.
You can reach Lisa Spear at lspear@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 280