VALLEY FALLS – The village is holding a public session May 15 to develop a plan for the village’s future while it waits to see if the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will move to assume the multimillion-dollar costs for removing the charred remains of the Thompson Mill.
An EPA emergency team will be in the village soon to assess whether the mill site would qualify for an emergency cleanup that would cover the estimated $3 million to $5 million in costs for removing the mill, said Kristina Younger, the village’s project manager.
“We’ve got a shot,” Younger said Friday.
The village is using a $125,000 state Department of State Brownfield Opportunity Area grant for its community-based planning effort. The village is matching the state grant.
“This effort will identify a unified vision for the village’s future and identify key opportunities for public improvement projects, environmental remediation, and the redevelopment of vacant and/or underutilized sites in a manner that celebrates the village’s rich history and natural resources,” according to a statement from the village.
The public meeting is 7 to 8:30 p.m., Monday, May 15, at the Valley Falls Community Hall, 11 Charles St. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with snacks provided and a coloring station available for children who attend.
For more information about the project, to access a survey and to see drone footage of the mill, visit the project website at www.HistoricValleyFalls.com.
An important part of the project is determining how to deal with the Thompson Mill, in a decrepit state after a major fire in 2009. The mill opened in 1860 and closed in 1992. Rensselaer County foreclosed on the site in 2018 and handed it over to the village.
“The building is the dangerous piece. The rest of the site came back pretty clean,” Younger said.
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