WILTON — Bid packets for asbestos removal and demolition at the former Forster Mill have been sent to 24 contractors, Town Manager Rhonda Irish told selectpersons Tuesday.

“We had a lot of interest,” she said. “Sending out 24 bid packets before the work is advertised is a lot.”

An ad for the bids will run in the Sun Journal this week.

Several contractors have already contacted the town.

A pre-bid meeting for all contractors will take place at 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 2, at the site, 581 Depot St. On behalf of the town, Ransom Consulting Inc. will be there to answer questions and give contractors a walk-through of what is expected to be covered in the bid.

According to the advertisement listed on the town website, bids are due and will be opened and read at 2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17, at Ransom’s office in Portland.

Ransom will go over the bids and make a recommendation on the lowest qualified bidder for selectpersons’ approval at their meeting Tuesday, Nov. 21, unless selectpersons decide they want more time to consider the bids.

Some selectpersons voiced concern about the short amount of time, from Nov. 17 to Nov. 21, to go over the bids.

Irish said they could decide to wait, although it would back up awarding the contract until their first meeting in December.

Work on asbestos removal could start as early as the week of Nov. 27 and needs to be completed by Feb. 1, Irish said. The deadline was extended to February to allow for holidays and potential snowstorms.

The demolition work could start as soon as the asbestos is removed, if a contractor wants to work a crew through the winter. Contractors could also bid to start the work no later than May 15, she said.

Selectperson David Leavitt thought the winter work might be good because neighboring homes near the mill site would be “buttoned up” over the winter and be less bothered by noise and activity.

The town website, wiltonmaine.org, now lists all the work done so far on the Forster Mill EPA Brownfield Project. It shows all the testing done, bid specs and advertisement. Once on the site, go under departments and Forster Mill, Irish said.

“It is a welcome start,” Selectperson Jeff Adams said about the long process for the town to reach demolition. “We’ve got a date.”

abryant@sunmediagroup.net

Former Forster Mill in Wilton