The Torrington City Council on Oct. 20 authorized the mayor to execute agreements to provide up to $73,000 from the city's Brownfield revolving loan fund to support cleanup and assessment work at the former Stone Hindi property (105 Summer St. and 200 Litchfield St.), sites damaged in a recent fire.

City staff said the $73,000 figure represents the remaining balance in the revolving-loan fund after a recent loan commitment to another project. Staff and regional partners said the funds will be deployed to pay for assessment, sorting of debris and early remediation planning so the city and the regional Brownfield partnership can advance a more comprehensive remediation grant application and access state and federal funds. Officials noted the project has potential remediation costs widely in excess of municipal funds and estimated remediation could fall in the multimillion-dollar range; the $73,000 is intended to act as a local match or bridge funding to unlock larger grants and emergency response resources.

Representatives from the regional Brownfield partnership and EPA had already visited the site and were coordinating response and funding pathways. Councilors said using the revolving funds now is appropriate given the emergency nature of the site and the need to preserve grant-application timetables; the motion carried on a voice vote. Officials said further requests for outside funds and possible additional local funding are likely as assessments quantify contamination and remediation needs.