Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Environmental Cleanup topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
New London outlines timeline for 43 Hempstead Street cleanup; bids expected in February
Summary
City staff and consultant VHB presented a remedial action plan for 43 Hempstead Street, saying state approval is required before bids and that construction could begin late summer 2025 if funding is secured. Neighbors urged ongoing involvement and asked for digital access to project documents.
Director Reyes and consultant Tom Bombardier updated the New London City Council on Jan. 6 about a remedial action plan for 43 Hempstead Street and the surrounding park parcel, saying state approval and remaining funding are the last steps before the city can solicit construction bids.
"This public notice... is part and is a formal requirement of the EPA," Director Reyes said, describing the plan as an "ABCA remedial action plan" prepared after site testing and drafted by VHB. He said VHB has produced bid estimates and that the city hopes to issue bid specifications in February.
The timeline the presenters described traces the property's industrial-era uses and more recent efforts to secure federal and state cleanup grants. Tom Bombardier told council members the current effort began in 2020 and that the city and its Community Development Agency have secured several state and federal grants to support the project.
Neighborhood residents and advocates urged continued involvement and clearer public access to documents. Lydia Blaisdell Brunner, who identified herself as part of the Freedom Trail Neighborhood Association, said the ABCA document is lengthy and hard to read and asked whether environmental use restrictions would limit planned park features. "The big takeaway is that there's polluted fill on the site going down 4 feet," she told the council and invited members to a neighborhood meeting with VHB at the New London Public Library on Monday, Jan. 13 at 5:30 p.m.
Council members asked for a clear timeline to reassure residents. Director Reyes said the next formal step is state review and approval of the remedial action plan; once the state approves the plan the city can go to market. "We are looking... to prepare the bid specifications," he said, and added that, funding permitting, the project could start in late summer 2025.
Reyes and Bombardier both acknowledged remaining funding gaps. Bombardier noted the city has contributed a matching amount so far—"the city's investment has been that 100 and $23,000 match," he said—and expressed confidence that the final funding obstacles were "not... unachievable." Councilors and residents requested that the city post the ABCA/related documents online so residents who cannot visit City Hall during business hours can access PDFs and schedule updates.
No formal council action on the cleanup plan was recorded at the Jan. 6 meeting; staff described next steps and community outreach, and scheduled the consultant to meet the neighborhood on Jan. 13.
The council moved on after the presentation to other agenda items.
