Avsolutely not the town should take it and let a citizens group repair and restore it

I live close by and really would not like an industrial property there. We have enough trucks and noise in this neighborhood already. However, restoration for a museum, apartments, or learning center would be ideal in my opinion.

The bi-products of electro-plating are numerous and hazardous,including
cadmium,chromium,mercury,lead,and cyanide.The cost of clearing debris and
haz-mat assessment would undoubtably require state or federal aid.

This property along with the adjacent C.G. Sargent stone buildings should be of the greatest historical interest to the town and should be entered on the historical preservation list. During the 19th century, 12 North Main St. was built by Charles G. Sargent and leased to the Abbot Worsted Company for wool precessing and spinning and became an integral part of the foundation of the town and specifically the area of Graniteville. During the 20th century with government contracts the employees of Sargent's and Abbot's made huge contributions to WWI and WW2. Demolition of the property would be a total disregard for its historical characteristics and would serve as closing the book on Westford's heritage.

tear it down before someone gets hurt and the town is liable.

I agree with Nancy 100%. That mill is probably the most impressive building in town, all granite top to bottom! And where is the owner of the building in all of this? I know I saw for a for sale sign out there not too long ago. Besides needing the obvious TLC, its a historical monument that should be restored in my opinion. Look at the Abbot Mills as a recent example.

Does anyone know if the property has be remediated? I knew the previous owner and he was happy to get rid of the business and property. Amongst other reasons, there is probably a load of hazardous materials there and the cost of remediating it could be huge. Cute historical reasons aside, it should be pulled down, and cleaned. It is a mess.

Some of the windows were boarded up months ago. I saw some caution tape and orange barrels added within a few weeks ago too (possibly because of or post Sandy?). On that note, the roof damage occurred on 2 occassions: '10 winter when there was massive snow totals and rash of roof collapses AND the October snow storm last year. The massive A/C unit gave way under the duress. I admit that the damage is substantial, but insurmountable? The pictures are worse than the actual damage in my opinion...and considering there are at least 5 businesses operating in the mill currently how bad can it really be? That said, if it is so hazardous how could these business be open and in turn still be safe? Northeast Bath just moved in a year ago....hoping all are safe before the holidays and beyond!

And the roof is still pretty exposed if that helps Dan D

Does anyone re-call that prior to Westford Anodizing ,there was was activity that
generated low level nuclear waste,an Air Force contract perhaps?

I think it should be torn down for safety reasons and because there was chemicals used there. I had a family member work there and he worked with many different types of chemicals.

This would seem to be a good candidate for the EPA's brownfields program,
which helps re-develop contaminated sites.The former Rust-Lic ,which was the
object of several Ma. EPA actions could also be included.

I agree John Brownsfield program was designed for this - a few residents tried to secure this property 3 yrs ago but the current owner was a step ahead of us - we need to do what ever we can to gain control of the ownership clean it up and restore it . very very sad

On an insurance plan that we have here at the Westford Museum, in 1890 the building was owned by heirs of CG Sargent and was occupied by the Abbot Worsted Company.

I hope this is not ANOTHER "Let the taxpayers fix the problem" fiasco!

Improving the Regulation and Management of Low-Activity Radioactive Wastes: Interim Report on Current Regulations, Inventories, and Practices (2003)
Board on Radioactive Waste Management (BRWM) may be a helpful reference point.
Barbara Smith

Barbara J. Smith

Another report,
http://www.crrel.usace.army.mil/library/technicalreports/TR-06-18.pdf, Conceptual Model For The Transport of Energetic Residues From Surface Soil to Groundwater by Range Activities, Nov 2006, by U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, Engineer Research & Development Center.

Westford, MA Portion:
Mary Dodson, Joe Robb, Shirley Rieven
AMEC Earth & Environmental, Inc.
239 Littleton Road, Suite 1B
Westford, MA 01886

Tear it down and put up a museum, visitor center-like structure. A local attraction telling the history of the Industrial past could be erected on Stony Brook location for families, birdwatchers, cyclists and so on. There's greenbelt, ducks and swans nearby. Rest rooms with a deck, cafe? Want Westford pride? Put up something to replace the present eyesore! The state boasts a $116 million surplus, get some. DCR, Audubon, Trustees of Reservations, Sargent trust if any could be involved. Where's the town leadership?

Who owns this dump? If somehow it winds up in government hands, please sell it to the highest bidder as soon as possible. We don't need yet another taxpayer owned and supported money pit property in town. Let a private party own and develop it and get tax revenue, not a tax drain.

Just don't leave it as it is :/