History of Toxics in Templeton
2022 Templeton Select Board Meeting, Meeting time 2:25:30 is the
beginning of the discussion about “Advanced Recycling”. Assessor
says “No!” to request to waive about 400K back taxes. Property had
not yet been purchased by MacVallee LLC.
Neighbors say no to industrial use; Temple Stuart site pollution woes.
Byline: Shirley Barnes December 3, 2007
TEMPLETON - Neighbors of the former Temple Stuart furniture factory on Holman Street, Baldwinville, wouldn't mind having a public safety complex, youth recreation, small commercial businesses, a park with walking trails, or windmills as neighbors, but they turned thumbs down on any big industry or warehouse that would create pollution or noise.
At a meeting of the Montachusett Regional Planning Commission last week, some residents of the area said they have gone through the Environmental Protection Agency cleanup of friable asbestos in the old factory buildings, and cleanup of PCBs that migrated from the site onto their lawns, and do not want to run the risk of further pollution of the area.
Glenn Eaton, director of planning and development for MRPC, said he is working under a Smart Growth Technical Assistance grant doing a feasibility study of the potential reuse of the Temple Stuart property. He said the final information will be available by the beginning of next year. There will also be further meetings to try to find funding for a new use for the area.
The land has been in industrial use since the mid-1800s, when tubs and buckets were made by the Holman Brothers.
The land cannot ever be used for homes, day care facilities or nursing homes because there is still pollutants buried on the site. According to the Department of Environmental Protection, some of the pollutants are better covered over and not removed because they will remain stable unless disturbed.
The reuse of the property depends on the status of legal issues surrounding American Tissue Mills, present owners of record. The company has been in bankruptcy proceedings and Mr. Eaton said the property needs a clear title before anything can proceed.
Mr. Eaton also asked those present if they were willing to give up the potential tax base from industrial or commercial businesses for the land to be used for recreation or town facilities. Most of those in attendance said they were very willing to give up taxes to avoid pollution.
Planning Board member Kirk Moschetti said the town would have to be crazy to take over the site with potential cleanup costs.
Planning Board member Robert Whalen said he approved of recreational uses or his suggestion of a condominium-type of business complex as an incubator for startup businesses with few employees.
Mr. Whalen also said the town needs to establish a redevelopment authority to be able to take over the site without liability, to plan for future use of the site and to market the area to businesses that fit the neighbors' preference.
NAME: TEMPLETON PLANNING BOARD COPYRIGHT 2007 Worcester Telegram & Gazette No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2024 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved
Town of Templeton v. MacVallee, LLC
Excerpt from the mass courts page:
05/02/2024 Event Resulted: Entry of Finding and Payment of Legal Fees. scheduled on:
05/02/2024 02:00 PM
Has been: Held via video. Finding issued.
Deborah J. Patterson, Presiding
Appeared: Attorney Coppola on behalf of the Plaintiff and Attorney Flick on behalf of the Defendant.
05/02/2024 The Court finds that MacVallee, LLC may redeem upon payment to the Plaintiff, on or before July 1, 2024, of the sum of $525,738.14 with interest allowed by statute from the date of this Finding to the date of payment, Court Cost in the amount of $965.00, and legal fees of $6,793.25.
https://www.masscourts.org/eservices/home.page.2
Click I’m not a robot then click here to search public records. From
drop down menu, choose Land Court, then enter company name:
MacVallee. Click on the case number. Info comes up.
As of July 2, the town can take this property for taxes because no payment was made as ordered by the court. The town apparently needs to complete a Brownfields analysis that will show that it will be awarded enough of the many grants, services, and trainings available by state, federal, and private entities to bring this property to re-use status. This has been done successfully by many other cities and towns in Massachusetts. The town may need to hire a contractor or a full time staff to perform these tasks or may choose to sell the property for a profit.
Please share your vision for this place, in words and/or pictures; what do you want to see there? A new Templeton EMS station to replace the one on the river in the flood zone would be great there! Maybe a small grocery, professional offices, dog groomer…Water Tower Mini Golf? What are your ideas and vision for re-use of this property? Send these to Templetonagainsttoxics@gmail.com please.
More to come soon…Templeton has a long history and stories of dumping. They will be posted here. Do you want to contribute your story? Please do so!
Dumping and Landfills
Facebook page on the history of Casella Waste Management in Templeton