News

Windsor asks National Guard to tear down disused armory

By JEFF EPSTEIN
[email protected]
WINDSOR, Vt. — After many months of deliberation and municipal angst, the Windsor select board decided on Tuesday to put the old armory out of its misery by asking the National Guard to tear it down.

The town will not buy or accept the building from the National Guard. The panel and Town Manager Tom Marsh had hoped the town would be able to get the property and put it to some recreational use without needing to worry much about environmental hazards. One consulting study had shown that the paint on the inside walls of the building was probably contaminated with PCBs, but the rest of the property seemed less problematic.

However, Marsh said, the National Guard had an environmental opinion different than the town’s. For one thing, he said, there was apparently a record found that a small amount of ground, possibly 10 by 10 feet, was contaminated with motor oil. It may therefore be appropriate to do a Phase I environmental assessment, he said.

The argument for getting involved in that was that if remediation is necessary, “we will have a say in it,” he said. However, the National Guard also wants to do a historical review, and the results of all the assessments could take a substantial amount of time. 

Under the restrictions of the property deed, board member Paul Belaski pointed out, the property has to be used for recreation purposes. What has been discussed is tearing the building down and reverting it to a field, giving it to the town as a recreational field. 

Rather than the town dealing with the building and possibly watching it deteriorate further, the board decided to let the National Guard do it. The select board voted unanimously to refuse the building, and urge the National Guard to tear down the armory building and give the town a safe field that children can play on.

The need to get past the building’s problems thwarted the hopes of a group of dog owners who in September had asked the select board to take the property and use it as a dog park. But once the contamination threat became known, the National Guard told the dogs and their owners to not attempt to use the property. 

The town may eventually get its field, but it will be some unknown period of time for the National Guard to dispose of the building and grounds.

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