By Emily Ford
eford@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY — Do you suspect environmental contamination somewhere in Salisbury?
You can report your concerns Monday night during a public forum, part of the city’s pursuit of a federal grant to assess whether the former Cannon Mills Plant No. 7 site is contaminated, as well as other locations in Salisbury.
Officially dubbed the Public Forum for the Technical Assistance for Brownfields, the meeting is set for 7 p.m. Monday in City Hall, 217 S. Main St.
The forum will allow community members to give input on the proposed Community Wide Assessment Grant.
City Council also will take public comment about contamination concerns at 4 p.m. Tuesday in City Hall.
City Council recently agreed to pursue a grant of up to $400,000 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to assess the former textile mill, originally Kesler Manufacturing Co., and determine whether it’s contaminated.
If approved, the grant would pay to investigate possible contamination at other Salisbury sites as well – old service stations, former dry cleaners, even the Empire Hotel.
City staffers say the assessment grant is the first step before considering taking over the mill site.
The owner of the property, a nonprofit Christian community development organization based in Atlanta, demolished Cannon Mills Plant No. 7 and was supposed to remove the mounds of debris by spring 2010.
FCS Urban Ministries now says it can’t afford the $200,000 cleanup price tag and wants the city to take over. The 12-acre blight stands in the middle of Park Avenue neighborhood.
Charles Ray, public outreach coordinator for PPM Consultants in Alabama, will explain brownfields during the forum. Ray is the former economic development director and brownfields coordinator for the city of St. Petersburg, Fla.
PPM will lead the grant application process for Salisbury. The federal government pays for cities to apply for assessment grants, so Salisbury has no application cost and no local match.
A consultant who has walked the Kesler site said the location is a good candidate for an assessment grant and potentially for a brownfields remediation grant to clean it up, said Joe Morris, the city’s director of Community Planning Services.
The Neighborhood Leaders Alliance, Salisbury Planning Board, Economic Development Commission and Downtown Salisbury Inc. have been invited to the forum, which is open to the anyone.
Morris, Robert Van Geons of the EDC and Randy Hemann of Downtown Salisbury will receive public comment.
The EDC could play a key role in redevelopment of the Kesler site, and Downtown Salisbury owns the Empire Hotel, which may be included in the assessment grant.
Morris said he will provide large maps of the community so residents can identify potential sites for environmental assessment.
Contact reporter Emily Ford at 704-797-4264.