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Town ratifies takeover of polluted prison plot
By Susan Smallheer Herald Staff - Published: February 13, 2008
SPRINGFIELD — One of the remaining promises of the state's deal with the town to host the state prison in Springfield has finally been kept.
The Springfield Select Board voted Monday night to accept title to a 32-acre parcel next to the Southern State Correctional Facility, with hopes of using the land for either industrial or commercial development.
"The word 'commercial' is a lot more friendly," said Select Board member Mark Blanchard.
The land, which is immediately adjacent to the 350-bed maximum security prison, does contain hazardous waste, but the state has fenced the two acres that contain the waste and buried it under about two to three feet of sand, according to Town Manager Robert Forguites. The fence will keep people from inadvertently digging up the waste, he said.
Forguites said that the state had earlier installed a fabric layer to keep water from reaching the waste and creating waste leachate. He said that test holes last summer revealed that the fabric is in place as promised.
Most of the waste at the site is believed to be coal tar, which came from the old gasification plant in Springfield, although Select Board member Mary Helen Hawthorne said that there was also waste from the town's machine industry heritage.
Hawthorne noted that it was good to wrap up this lingering issue since both she and longtime member John Hall were both stepping down from the board after years of service after March town meeting.
"I'm pleased with the way the state addressed our concerns," Hall said.
Forguites said that the town has not received any inquiries about the land, but he said it would have been premature since the town didn't hold title to the land.
He said that he hoped to work with the Springfield Regional Development Corp. to market the land. Forguites said that being next to a prison might not be the first choice for developers, and he noted that the town had not received any inquiries about the land.
"Some companies would have a concern with that," he said of the location.
"It's all sand and quite workable. Something could be developed," he said, noting that most of the land is flat.
The town receives a payment from the state instead of property taxes, but he said that the transfer of the 32 acres to town ownership would not affect that payment, since most of it covers the buildings at the prison.
"It's hard to market something if you don't actually have title," Forguites said.
The manager praised Dave Burley of the state Department of General Services and Buildings for "being great to work with."
Now the only remaining promise from the prison deal is the rebuilding of Route 143, which is locally known as Skitchewaug Trail.
"Now we're down to 143 as the last issue," Hall said.
Forguites said he expected some discussion on that issue at the board's next meeting, Feb. 25. The prison opened more than three years ago.
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