GUILFORD – The changeover of the town’s solid waste transfer station from Elm Street to Blaine Avenue is progressing well, according to Guilford Town Manager Tom Goulette.

The state ordered the shutdown of the Elm Street site this spring because it was not licensed. Residents in March authorized the purchase of property on Blaine Avenue for a new transfer station and budgeted only enough to change the operation over to the new location.

Next year, residents will be asked to appropriate enough to build a road, clear the land, and make improvements and additions needed for the future, Goulette said Friday.

The Department of Environmental Protection has given the town up to two years to start construction on the new facility and a total of five years, which includes the two years, to complete the site, Goulette said.

Goulette said the former town garage that was on the Elm Street property would be sold. Negotiations are in progress with an interested party. If these negotiations fail, the property will be placed out to bid, he said.

Town officials also are moving forward on the development of the Harold K. Melvin Memorial Park between Main Street and Hardwood Products Co. along the River Walk.

Guilford of Maine gave the town a 99-year lease on the property, which will be converted into a park with picnic benches and shrubs. The town won a $25,000 Maine Community Foundation grant for work on the approximately 360-by-60-foot parcel.

“It’s just going to be a little scenic resting spot for those who want to walk the western end of the River Walk,” Goulette said. The River Walk along the Piscataquis River is a former rail bed.

Goulette expects that the excavation work will be done by September, with some planting done this year and the remainder completed in the spring when a dedication is planned.

“It will give the town a little green space,” Goulette said.