Cleanup at Lambert Kay

WINSTED — Analysis and cleanup of the old Lambert Kay property began earlier this week, according to Robert Simmons, chief hydro-geologist of HRP Associates Inc. of Farmington.

Simmons gave the Board of Selectmen an update at the board’s meeting on Monday, Nov. 17.

The company signed a contract with the town in October to assist in the investigation and remediation of the property, located at 32 Lake St.

“We’ve got the project up and rolling. The preliminary work has been done. We’re going in tomorrow with a crew to do some more wrap up for the phase one portion.” Simmons said. “The building hazmat survey fieldwork portion has already been done. All of the samples were collected, and the laboratory should be sending them back in a couple of weeks.”

Selectman Glenn Albanesius requested further information regarding which materials are tested on site and which are being sent to a lab.

“We did some on-site screening for things like lead paint. We can use a meter that gives a reading of what the lead content is, but for the most part everything goes out to independent laboratories. The asbestos goes out, and when we get into the soil and ground water they will go out too.” Simmons said. “People have been getting in on a regular basis and vandalizing the building. The walls are being ripped out. There are hazards in the building. People really shouldn’t be in there without taking the right kind of precautions. They could also be transporting the material around and making it that much more difficult to fix later on.”

Simmons said he met with potential buyer Brooks Ventures earlier in the evening to discuss what they would like to do with the building.

“They’ll be a vital part of this whole process as we start gaining towards what the plans for this remediation are. Part of our designing really depends on what the site is going to be used for,” he said. “We take into account what the end use is going to be.” 

During an interview after the meeting, Simmons said that vandalism is a common problem with empty buildings.

“The security isn’t quite there. Almost every window is broken, and the doors are in bad shape. There are back areas of the property with trees down on the security fencing. In other areas of the property, the fencing has been cut so people can walk right in. The place is just a mess from people getting in there over the years,” Simmons said. “Probably youth. There are a lot of household goods stored in the building, and they’ve been wiped out totally. Spread around, ripped up, used for whatever. The end result of the work we’re doing is to come up with a physical plan of how to fix the site to make it safe and control any exposures so the property can be used for whatever the intended use is going to be. We’ll be there several days a week. If I come across somebody vandalizing the building, I will inform them that they’re trespassing and notify the police department.”