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11/19/2013 11:00 PMWESTBROOK - Approving funds for open space buys and for removal of underground fuel tanks to avoid state fines are two proposals on tonight's Town Meeting agenda. The Thursday, Nov. 21 meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the Mulvey Municipal Center.
Both proposed spending proposals were approved by the Board of Selectmen and Board of Finance for consideration by the town's electors.
The first proposal, if approved, would be to spend up to $80,000 at the Town Garage site for two projects: one would remove three underground fuel tanks at the Town Garage site and replace them with new above-ground tanks; the other would be to purchase and install a new electronic key card fuel system to monitor and track town vehicle fuel use.
The underground tanks' licensed life extends through 2018. However, the state Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) issued the town a violation for not performing daily monitoring of the tanks. DEEP also required that the town, to correct the situation, install by December new underground tank monitoring equipment or face fines.
Public Works Director John Riggio told the Board of Selectmen that the cost to buy and install the new monitoring equipment was nearly equal to the cost to remove and replace them, and three years from now, the underground tanks would have to be removed anyway.
As a result, Riggio recommended the town remove and replace the underground tanks now instead of waiting. With new tanks in place, Riggio also plans to buy and install a new electronic key card system to track fuel usage by town vehicles.
The second proposal would authorize spending $750,000 to buy as open space a 143-acre parcel owned by Joseph Russo. The town's Board of Selectmen has already authorized $10,000 to place as a deposit toward this purchase.
Whether the town proceeds with the purchase is contingent on town receipt of a promised $200,000 donation to partially offset the $750,000 purchase price. The town is also seeking state grants that, if secured, would further offset the town's net cost to buy the Russo parcel.
The Conservation Commission wrote that the Russo parcel should be bought by the town as protected open space "to preserve the critical forest and wetlands that help protect surface and ground water quality and provide valuable food and cover for wildlife in the Menunketesuck River Watershed." The land includes forested ridges, Plane Brook, a perennial stream, and a steep-sided, 1,000-foot-wide, flat-bottomed valley.
The Russo parcel also abuts 34 acres of open space already owned by the town off of Route 145 and lies within the state-designated Menunketesuck Greenway.