Editor’s note: This story by Allison Teague was first published by The Commons.
BELLOWS FALLS — Windham County Sheriff Keith Clark says locating the new Liberty Mill Justice Center in the former Chemco building “is not off the table” — despite recent news stories that proclaimed otherwise.
Clark said he is continuing to “do due diligence,” and he is optimistic that should the Chemco building prove unsuitable for financial reasons “some other location will come along.”
The sheriff said he is also investigating alternative locations in Westminster and Rockingham, but he wouldn’t say what sites he is considering. Disclosing that information to the public, he said would “hurt [his] ability to negotiate” and “keep costs down.”
Options for siting of the Justice Center are limited to towns with infrastructure that can provide 2,100 gallons a day for water and wastewater disposal for a “huge” septic system.
At the heart of the issue is a $250,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Community Development Initiative loan with a matching grant.
Clark said that “we asked, but we have not heard yet,” if the grant can be amended to apply to the project, not the building, should he decide that the Chemco building will not work.
“I don’t know if that loan application could be amended,” once approved, to follow the proposed project, rather than be tied to a specific building or site, he said.
The former paper mill was constructed in the 1920s. According to the executive summary of a building assessment by Brattleboro engineering firm Stevens and Associates, external lateral bracing will likely be needed to bring the building up to code.
“Due diligence,” he explained, “is the reason we asked for an engineering assessment — to find out what the building actually needed. It looks old, sure. But what is it actually like?”
As it turns out, it is not in bad shape, Clark said, but he does not have funding “at the moment” to hire an architectural firm for a plan that would determine the cost of bracing the structure. Nor does he know if it would be more cost effective to tear the building down.
Funding for additional studies would come from the pending USDA loan application.
The Bellows Falls Area Development Corporation holds the option to buy the Chemco property, at 203 Paper Mill Rd., through Sept. 30.
