Board awaits asbestos removal cost

HOULTON – The future of the former Houlton International Corp. complex remains up in the air as the owner’s board of directors waits to see how much it could cost to remove a substantial amount of asbestos from the building.

During a brief Shiretown Development Corp. meeting Tuesday evening, the board received an update on the status of the building as it moves forward with plans for the facility and the land it sits on.

Town Manager Douglas Hazlett told the directors that asbestos was found in 610 linear feet of wrapped heating pipe in the building, in some bathroom floor tiles and in the facility’s exterior siding.

During the meeting, local businessman Peter Fitzpatrick II told the board that he had a proposal for the building he wanted the group to look at.

Board members said they plan to do so, but they agreed that they first want to look at the estimates on the asbestos remediation costs before proceeding. The board should know those costs in about a week.

The Shiretown Development board functions as an economic development arm for the town and consists of seven town councilors and two public representatives.

Shiretown Development entered into a $161,000 purchase-and-sale agreement with officials from the former Houlton International facility more than three years ago. At the time, it planned to use the massive complex garnered through the agreement to attract a larger business to the area.

Although the building has been shown several times, it has failed to attract a larger business.

In 2005, Shiretown Development negotiated a deal with Premium Log Yards Inc., a Houlton business that leases the sawmill building and sawdust shed, along with an additional 2 acres nearby.

It is costing the SDC approximately $10,000 a year just for insurance on the structure, and the board’s account is running out of money.

The group began looking at other options for the building several months ago.

The board is looking at several alternatives, including putting the site up for sale or demolishing the building and selling the scrap metal so that the building would be gone, but the town could continue to own and market the land.

The board was handed a setback last month, however, when it learned that the massive complex they’ve been trying to market contains asbestos. Although it poses no health risk right now because the asbestos is encapsulated, it will have to be dealt with if the group decides to demolish the building.