Wal-Mart will meet tomorrow with the state Department of Environmental Protection to discuss the continuing slow slippage of soil at the site of the proposed River Pointe Plaza development in Kilbuck, and the retailer's plans to remove some of the soil to reduce that movement.
The meeting is the first of a series outlined in a four-page Wal-Mart memo sent to the state this week that proposes general steps to permanently stabilize the 75-acre, landslide-prone site along the Ohio River.
The memo, signed by Donald Rea, of the Wal-Mart Real Estate Business Trust, makes no mention of what, if any, plans the company has to develop the site in the future.
"Until we get a report on the final stabilization of the site and what the final [development] footprint will be, we won't be discussing it," said Jim Davis, a Wal-Mart spokesman. "We have a complete hold on development. This is all about stabilization."
A Wal-Mart Superstore was to be the anchor of the $28 million shopping plaza on the old Dixmont State Hospital property, but development stopped after a massive September landslide dropped 500,000 cubic yards of rock, dirt and debris onto heavily traveled Route 65, closing the road for two weeks.
Wal-Mart assumed operational control of the site a month ago, after its developer, Kilbuck Properties L.P., failed to meet several DEP deadlines for monitoring and temporary stabilization. In its recent memo, Wal-Mart states that Kilbuck's subcontractors have refused to give it monitoring data required by the state because they have not been paid by Kilbuck Properties.
Wal-Mart said its engineering subcontractor, L.Robert Kimball & Associates Architects, will continue to monitor the site and make a presentation to the DEP in early June detailing the findings and recommending a final design for permanently stabilizing the property.
Sixty days after that June meeting, Kimball will submit detailed final designs for grading and permanently stabilizing the site, along with a grading and construction schedule for the stabilization.
If the site stabilization is not completed by the end of October, Wal-Mart told the DEP that it will take steps to ensure the interim stability of the site throughout the winter.
Helen Humphreys, a DEP spokeswoman, said only work related to the site stabilization will be discussed, considered or approved. She said the department is reviewing the Wal-Mart work schedule proposal but "will need more specifics" before it can approve anything.
"There will be no earth moving for any purpose other than stabilizing the site," Ms. Humphreys said. "Any future development will only occur through a new permitting process."
First Published: April 26, 2007, 3:15 a.m.
