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Concord task force signals move toward conditional acquisition of former Starmet site
Summary
The Town of Concord Main Street Advisory Task Force signaled informal consensus on recommending the Select Board pursue a conditional acquisition of the former NMI Starmet site, pending defined legal and financial protections; members asked staff to draft precise motion language and pros-and-cons for a future vote.
The Town of Concord Main Street Advisory Task Force signaled at its Sept. 3 meeting that members are converging on a recommendation that the Select Board should pursue a conditional acquisition of the former NMI Starmet site, while leaving final language and specific conditions to future drafting and vote.
Chair Paul Bohm told the group that a conditional acquisition would mean moving toward acquisition only if certain legal and financial conditions are met, including negotiated liability protections and acceptable financial terms. "What I meant by conditional acquisition is ... recommend that the Select Board move forward towards acquisition if ... successful negotiations on the financial side," Bohm said during the meeting.
Why it matters: EPA has told town staff it wants an expression of interest from the Select Board before it will take additional steps; several members stressed that signaling interest now preserves the town’s ability to influence how the site is graded, remediated and reused. Members contrasted that opportunity cost with the alternative of deferral, which would reduce the town's leverage to shape cleanup and reuse.
Discussion and next steps: Members debated three formal recommendation paths for the report—(1) conditional acquisition with enumerated conditions; (2) deferral/postponement; and (3) a recommendation not to acquire the property. Several task force participants urged the chair and authors to spell out pros and cons and to draft specific conditions before the committee places a motion on an agenda. One legal contributor cautioned that protections such as comfort letters and bona fide purchaser (BFP) assurances require careful negotiation and close reading.
The task force also confirmed a Select Board–requested site visit scheduled for the following day with expected attendance by Select Board members and the Finance Committee. Consultants preparing the reuse chapter were asked to include maps and visual orientation materials for the site visit so visiting officials can better picture building locations, sensitive areas and potential reuse zones.
Case studies and financial uncertainty: Members reviewed other towns’ experiences taking ownership of cleaned Superfund or contaminated parcels and noted examples where towns obtained institutional controls and comfort letters that allowed buildings and municipal projects to proceed. Participants emphasized that cost and liability remain uncertain and will depend on negotiations; task force members asked Finance Committee representatives to review potential fiscal exposures as part of next-step planning.
What the task force did not do: The group did not adopt a formal recommendation or vote on site acquisition at the meeting. Bohm said a detailed motion and report language will be prepared for a future meeting, and that the task force intends to present a clarified recommendation, the supporting pros-and-cons, and a proposed set of conditions for the Select Board’s consideration.
The task force will continue drafting the final report, circulate consolidated sections for comment, and aim to have a reviewable draft in the coming weeks ahead of targets for October/November packet inclusion.
