Plans to spend a half-million dollars removing toxic materials from a recreation building at the former Naval base in Cutler are underway, and more work may be needed before the building can be put to use again.
The Washington County Development Authority was awarded the $500,000 grant through the Environmental Protection Agency’s Brownfields Program in 2021.
Funding from the Brownfields Program is broadly used to clean up contaminated properties and prepare them for redevelopment and reuse.
Built in 1964, the 19,285 square foot, one-story Recreation Building includes a gymnasium, bowling alley and racquetball court, lockers, an office and storage and mechanical rooms. It was used by the Navy until the base was decommissioned in 2003, and donated to the Washington County Development Authority in 2015.
The building was found to have a variety of hazardous building materials including asbestos, PCB-containing components and universal waste that are preventing it from being used or repurposed, according to the WCDA.
Washington County Manager Renee Gray said part of the four-year delay in starting the work has been to allow time for cleanup assessments.
Sevee and Maher Engineers of Cumberland investigated the site and developed a cleanup and remediation plan, and in July the WCDA picked a contractor to do the work.
The cleanup underway now includes abating asbestos-containing materials, removing universal waste and contaminated insulation, and partially demolishing affected sections of the building.
Doing all the necessary environmental work would have cost more than the $500,000 WCDA had available, Gray said, so not all of the work will be done before the building is handed over to Dan Morton, who manages several other properties in the former base through an agreement with WCDA.
The work is expected to be done by December, according to WCDA. The next use of the building has not yet been determined.
