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Gardiner council approves boundary-line agreement and authorizes $105,000 for T.W. Brownfield soil removal
Summary
The council authorized the city manager to sign a boundary-line agreement for 1 Summer Street and approved spending $105,000 to remove 2,100 tons of soil from a former T.W. property, with funding split between sale proceeds and a special revenue fund; the developer will pay transport costs and Brownfields funds will cover part of the state fee.
The Gardiner City Council on Feb. 12 approved a boundary-line agreement for 1 Summer Street to resolve a roughly seven-foot encroachment and also authorized city funding to remove soil from the former T.W. Brownfield site.
Finance Director Denise Brown explained negotiations with the City of Augusta to accept contaminated soil at $50 per ton plus a $25 per ton state fee. She told the council the parties tentatively agreed to accept the soil at $50/ton plus the state fee and that Brownfields grant money can be used to cover the $25/ton state fee. The city estimated removal of about 2,100 tons at a total cost of $105,000.
"We are asking ... to use the proceeds of the sale of $90,000 and the remaining $15,000 with some special revenue funds that we have set aside in the tax-acquired property fund," Brown said. Councilor Tim Cusick offered a motion to authorize the expenditure and specify the funding sources; the motion passed unanimously.
Developer Matt Morrow of Mastway Development thanked the council for completing negotiations and said the project is "almost at the finish line." City and developer comments at the meeting noted the developer would handle transportation costs to move the material to Augusta’s landfill, estimated at $40,000–$50,000.
The council also approved the manager signing the boundary-line agreement for 1 Summer Street to formalize the property adjustments required for the developer project.
Why it matters: The actions remove a legal obstacle to a development sale, and the approved funding clears the brownfield remediation step needed to advance the redevelopment project. The financing approach uses sale proceeds and an internal special revenue fund while leveraging available Brownfields assistance to lower the city’s share of state fees.
Next steps: Finance and public works will coordinate hauling, confirm Brownfields fee coverage and report back to council when contracts or schedule details are finalized.
