Brownsfield Project

City of Franklin’s Brownfields Project

Former Guay’s Garage, South Main Street

The City of Franklin received a grant from the federal EPA to assist in the cleanup of the hazardous materials located on the property of the former garage on South Main Street.  The project site is important due to its location on South Main Street, NH State Route 3, which is a prime commuter route between Franklin and Concord.  Approximately 20,000 vehicles pass by this site daily and the re-development of the site would assist in the economic enhancement of the general areas and the adjacent Business Park, and would also provide for new jobs for area residents.

In order to help keep the public informed about this project, the City’s website will be used as an important communication outreach tool.  Below you will find some background material, the anticipated project schedule, and the project oversight and contact information.  After this information, you can read the regular update(s) on the status of the project.  All of the updates will be located here, so scroll down to find the most recent material.  We hope you find this material interesting and useful.  We welcome any comments you might have.  Thank you.

Background

The former Guay’s Garage property is located at 599-601 South Main Street, just north of the entrance to the Franklin Business and Industrial Park.  Since the 1930’s, the site has been used as a former car dealership, gasoline station, and auto repair facility.  The City assumed ownership in the spring of 2010 through a tax deeding process.  The property is now in a dilapidated condition;  the garage and barn building remain standing, but there are structural problems in the garage.  A separate 2-unit apartment building existed when the city assumed ownership, but this building burned down in June of 2012.

Soon after assuming ownership of the property, the City began to work cooperatively with the Lakes Region Planning Commission and the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services [NHDES], and, using federal funds, hazardous assessment studies were begun.  As part of the assessment work, multiple drums containing hazardous materials were identified on the site, and the federal Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] initiated an emergency cleanup of these drums.  To assist in the continued cleanup and redevelopment of the site, the City submitted an application to the EPA for a Brownfields grant in November of 2011.  The City was successful with this application and a $200,000 grant was awarded in the summer of 2012.

The definition of a brownfield site is:  A property where economic revitalization efforts may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.

A variety of hazardous materials have been identified on the site.  These materials, many associated with the auto-oriented uses, include various hydrocarbons and compounds located in debris piles on the western portion of the site, as well as in a sump area adjacent to the garage building;  PCB’s detected in the oil stained concrete with the garage;  MtBE was detected in the groundwater;  and, asbestos containing materials and lead painted surfaces were identified in and around the buildings on the site.  All of these materials will be addressed during the cleanup activities.

Schedule of Tasks

The projected schedule of tasks for this cleanup project is shown below.  The schedule may be modified due to unanticipated issues that might arise, such as specific site conditions or the need for the EPA or DES to review or approve require documents:

Project Oversight & Contact

This Brownfields grant program is being managed by the City of Franklin.  All critical activities are being coordinated with the EPA and the N.H. Department of Environmental Services.  All information related to this project will be kept at the City’s Planning and Zoning Office.  The primary contact information is as follows:

Richard Lewis, Planning & Zoning Administrator / Project Manager
Franklin City Hall, 316 Central Street, Franklin, NH 03235
Phone: (603) 934-2341;  Fax: (603) 934-7413

The City’s Project Manager is available during normal business hours to discuss any issue related to the cleanup work or the redevelopment of the property.

April 2013 Update

The City of Franklin has contracted with a qualified environmental professional firm [Nobis Engineering] to design and oversee the cleanup program.  A kick-off meeting attended by EPA and NHDES staff, the project manager from Nobis Engineering, and city staff was held last fall.

Nobis Engineering has been working with EPA and DES staff on the preparation of the scope of work for the cleanup work.  The initial assessment work conducted in 2011-2012 did show some levels of PCB’s on the site.  In order to better determine the exact scope of the overall cleanup activities, we are required to perform some additional material identification and characterization investigations.  EPA and DES approval for this investigation work was issued early April, and work will be the week of April 8th.

Following the completion of the PCB investigations, Nobis Engineering will finish the overall scope of work, as well as a review of the different cleanup alternative.  A public hearing will be schedule to discuss the options and gather any public comments.  The announcement for this public hearing will be posted in City Hall and on our website, with an advertisement in the Laconia Sun.

November 2013 Update

Since the last update the City has been working hard on advancing this project.  Our consultant, Nobis Engineering, has prepared numerous reports that were submitted to EPA and NH DES.  A key document was the Analysis of Brownfields Cleanup Alternatives.  A fully noticed public hearing was held on this document during the summer.  Once that step was accomplished, Nobis initiated work on the quality assurance plans that help to define the extent of the cleanup and abatement activities, the methodologies that are used, and the measures that will be put into place to protect public health, safety, and welfare.  At the same time, Nobis stated work on the draft specifications necessary to bid the cleanup work.

A Request for Proposal was issued and 3 proposals were submitted.  The firm of Spears Brothers was selected, and a contract has been signed.  The City, Nobis Engineering, and Spears Brothers have been coordinating activities, and today mobilization efforts will begin.  The first steps in the cleanup process will be the removal of the asbestos containing materials [flooring, roofing, some windows, and the burned debris from the June 2012 fire in the apartment building] located on the property.  In the coming days, other debris piles located towards the rear of the property will be removed, contaminated soils will be excavated and transported from the site, and eventually the garage building will be demolished.  The barn structure, located to the rear of the garage will remain, and our hope is to find a community, a firm or an individual who is interested in removing and recycling the barn since it contains some valuable old timbers.  The Town of Belmont has expressed an interest in the barn structure.

Given the limited size of the property and the structures, the overall cleanup, abatement, and demolition activities can probably be accomplished within a 3 week period.  The site will be fenced off to help protect the public and specific work zones will be properly managed to protect the on-site workers.  Nobis engineering will be on site throughout the process to provide oversight and management of the work.  City staff will visit the site on a regular basis as well.

Again, the long term goal of the City of Franklin is to see this site cleaned up and redeveloped so that it becomes a useful commercial property again.  This cleanup work is the first step in this process.