Stonington

to apply for grant to study Connecticut Casting mill contamination.

Stonington — The Board of Selectmen on Wednesday unanimously approved a plan for the town to apply for a $200,000 state grant to perform an environmental assessment of the decaying Connecticut Casting Mill on Stillman Avenue in Pawcatuck.

First Selectman Rob Simmons has said the mill owners have not proceeded with plans to redevelop the site, have stopped paying taxes on the property and are not returning calls from the town, effectively abandoning the site. The town was unable to sell the property at a tax sale, as there were no bidders.

At a September forum, Pawcatuck residents told town officials they want the town to secure the site and take actions to help clean up and redevelop the property.

“We can’t avoid the fact that it’s in deteriorating condition. Unfortunately, we’re going to end up managing it in some form, so the idea is to go to the state for assistance,” he said at Wednesday’s selectmen’s meeting.

Town Planner Keith Brynes said that seeking the grant does not mean the town is taking ownership of the property. Instead, it will allow the town to determine the extent of the environmental contamination on the site and develop a master plan to address it. That information will help the town decide how to proceed with the site’s redevelopment.

In 2005, the Planning and Zoning Commission approved a plan by a Worcester, Mass., redevelopment firm to build 15 condominiums in the existing 18,000-square-foot, four-story brick mill at the north end of the site along the Pawcatuck River. An additional 24 units would have been located in two new buildings.

Those plans never came to fruition, and current owner Pawcatuck Landing has been unable to line up money for environmental cleanup of PCB, lead, mercury and other industrial contamination on the 1.2-acre site.

In January 2011, the roof of the southern portion of the mill collapsed, which the town said created an unsafe situation. Today, the site is overgrown and the building is in serious disrepair. While a fence surrounds the site, a large hole has been cut in one section and the fence easily can be scaled in other areas. For years there’s been evidence that people have been trespassing in the building.