BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. – At the Tuesday, Aug. 20, meeting of the Bellows Falls Trustees, town manager Scott Pickup and resident Jamey Berrick each took a moment to thank the Bellows Falls Police Department (BFPD) for a recent PSA on pedestrian safety in the downtown Bellows Falls area.
Pickup also thanked FACT TV, who produced the video, which is posted on the Rockingham town website. “It’s a nice PSA,” Pickup commented. “We hope that it has an impact on folks, especially when they are downtown.” The PSA was prompted by several recent car-versus-pedestrian incidents in the village.
The new solar array is currently in operation on top of the Bellows Falls water tank, and Pickup mentioned that the long-term benefits of that will include keeping water from icing in the tank, and assisting with the mixing of chemicals. The town may qualify for additional funding support from Efficiency Vermont, and Pickup said he planned to follow up with them in the next few days and would report back.
Permits were approved for three upcoming events, one at the Bellows Falls Middle School on Aug. 26, an open-air event at the old Robertson Paper Mill site held by Next Stage Arts scheduled for Sept. 15, and the annual Parade of Lights on Dec. 14. Pickup mentioned these events had taken place in previous years without incident, the Parade of Lights being the most complicated event to run, as it requires some police involvement. “I don’t see any specific issues with any of these,” Pickup commented.
An update on the potential development at the 0 Bridge Street site was given by Pickup and director Gary Fox. Pickup remarked that the consultant firm White + Burke had been tapped to work with the town, stating, “What we are excited about here is that this provides us an opportunity for a few things. [White + Burke is] very good at reaching out [to] private funders that will come in and implement these types of projects.”
Fox provided further detail, saying, “Big picture: we spent less than 20% of the funds that go to White + Burke. As you can see from the feasibility study, we determined what will fit on the property, and what the soils can hold, in terms of a four-story building.” Fox told the board they had done a contamination assessment, and said, “Basically, there is good news there.” Although he mentioned there are several different types of contamination, which would either be capped off by a paved parking lot or the contaminants would need to be removed, Fox said there were “no PCBs found.”
“We are really early in the process,” Fox reported, but said they were very pleased with the work White + Burke has provided thus far. Fox said the next step will be to draft a Request for Information, a process used in construction to request clarification about documents, drawings, specifications, or other project conditions. The document will then go to the board for review and approval at the September meeting before putting it out for publication.
Board member Conor Floyd recapped the proposal. “They’re envisioning what would fit best is a four-story building, parking underground, retail on the ground floor, and 30 rental units on floors two, three, and four.” Fox confirmed.
“And these would all be market-rate,” Pickup added.
The next village trustees meeting is scheduled for Sept. 10. The joint board meeting is set for Sept. 24, with local state legislators scheduled to attend and address questions and concerns presented by the boards.