ORANGE — The town stands to receive $3.4 million in state money to clean up the debris and rubble resulting from the June 4 suspected arson at the former cereal factory at 16-36 West River St., it was announced Friday.
The blaze sent embers into the air and some landed on the vacant former blacksmith shop near 24 East River St., causing so much damage that it had to be demolished. The vacant buildings at 58 and 50 South Main St. also sustained damage. At least 20 fire departments responded to the inferno reported at 11:45 a.m.
But Town Administrator Gabriele Voelker said later that month that Orange is ineligible for public grants to offset cleanup costs because it does not own the property. However, at the same time, she said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency advised the town not to assume ownership via tax taking because that would make Orange liable for the cleanup expenses.
Three juveniles — with ages ranging from 12 and 14 at the time — were identified on June 6 and face criminal charges in connection with the suspected arson. Due to their ages, their names have not been released by authorities. The state Department of Environmental Protection had covered the debris for the public’s safety.
Voelker reported in June having spent a little more than $400,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money on the cleanup, which was originally projected to cost $3.8 million. That figure has been revised to $3.4 million, the same amount Orange is poised to receive from the state.
Selectboard Chair Jane Peirce said on Friday that the town has $600,000 in remaining ARPA money and it is a condition of the state funds that that ARPA money be spent on site cleanup. She said the state money is a huge relief for Orange.
“It is enormous, enormous,” she said. “It will make all the difference in the world to be able to clean that up.”
The money is included in the state Legislature’s fiscal year 2022 close-out budget and economic development omnibus legislation. The appropriation is now on Gov. Charlie Baker’s desk to be signed into law. The inclusion was announced Friday by Congressman James McGovern, a Democrat representing the 2nd Congressional District of Massachusetts, as well as state Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, and state Rep. Susannah Whipps, I-Athol.
“We are so grateful for the tireless hard work and efforts of Congressman McGovern, Sen. Comerford, and Rep. Whipps on the town of Orange’s behalf. We cannot adequately express our appreciation in words,” Voelker said in a statement. “This helps us clean up a very unfortunate catastrophic fire event that we would never have been able to afford to remediate and will open up opportunities for the town to clean up the site and revitalize our downtown.”
“Congressman McGovern, Rep. Whipps and I are united in our love for the town of Orange and our deep appreciation for its municipal leaders and first responders,” Comerford said in a statement. “Now, this local, state and federal partnership has delivered much-deserved state aid to Orange in the wake of the June 4 fire to support the town’s recovery efforts and work to build back even stronger after the devastation.”
Whipps mentioned she, Comerford and McGovern were in contact with Orange to offer their resources even before the fire was extinguished.
“As an aside, I’d like to point out that Jim and Jo are Democrats, Gov. Baker a Republican, and I am an Independent,” she said in a statement. “This sort of cooperation across lines is how government is supposed to work, and I am proud to be involved.”
“June’s fire was a terrible tragedy,” McGovern said in a statement, “but today’s announcement is a testament to the bipartisan spirit of cooperation and collaboration that are cornerstones of this community. … I look forward to the progress that will be made thanks to this funding, and I know that Orange will come back stronger than ever.”
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or
413-930-4120.