Thomaston prison quarry plan scrapped

THOMASTON – The state has scrapped the idea of using polyester fiber waste, coming from R.D. Outfitters rifle range in Warren, to fill the massive quarry at Maine State Prison when the facility is demolished.

The cost to use the fiber material as fill was the deciding factor, according to Elaine Clark, director of the Bureau of General Services.

H.E. Sargent of Stillwater, the construction company that was awarded the contract to demolish the prison, would have charged an additional $70,000 to haul the material from Warren to the Thomaston quarry.

The pit is 1.7 acres in size and 30 feet deep.

R.D. Outfitters rifle range, located on Route 90 in Warren and owned by Steamship Navigation Co., had planned on using the material to create berms, or mounds, to absorb bullets fired there.

The material came from Gates Formed-Fibre of Auburn, which paid Steamship $1 million to take it, according to Michael Parker of the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Steamship, however, ran into financial difficulties and has not completed the project and is in violation of its DEP permit.

Parker recently suggested using the fiber material to fill the quarry hole at the prison.

He was unavailable Thursday for comment.

Once the prison is torn down, the grade of the land will be restored and grassed over, Clark said. She did not know if the land would be turned over to the town. Thomaston officials have proposed creating a park at the Route 1 site.

Commissioner Janet Waldron of the state Department of Administrative and Financial Services said Thursday that the immediate focus is demolishing the 176-year-old prison.

The details of future ownership of the property have not yet been addressed, she said. At some point, the state will hold discussions with the community and the Legislature about the fate of the land, she added.

Maine Valuation Co. of Gorham recently appraised the property at $285,000, according to Clark. There are 15.6 acres of land that could be sold or transferred, she said, noting that the state plans to keep some portions of the 24.8-acre parcel for parking at the prison showroom and the Maine State Police barracks. The parking lots already exist behind the showroom and to the east of the barracks, she said.

The demolition bid by Sargent was for $1,474,000, which was far less than the almost $4 million that was appropriated by the Legislature for the job.

According to Waldron, the excess funds, which will amount to roughly $1 million, will be returned to the general fund.

The state was very pleased that the bid came in so much lower than the amount earmarked for the project, Waldron said, “and that we got a Maine contractor.”

The state has 30 days to decide whether to also demolish the maintenance garage and a storage building at the prison, which would cost an additional $8,000.

“It is very likely the buildings will be demolished,” Clark said.

The state Department of Corrections, however, has requested that those buildings remain until at least June to be used for storage during the shift to the new Maine State Prison in Warren.

Warden Jeffrey Merrill could not be reached Thursday for comment on when the Thomaston inmates are expected to be moved to the new $76 million facility.