Norwich – Developing a boat launch at the former Shipping Street industrial district could cost nearly $4 million, including purchase of the property, environmental cleanup and construction of the launch, project officials told the City Council last week.

The City Council will hold a public hearing at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 1 on an ordinance to purchase a former oil depot warehouse at 1 Terminal Way on the Thames River waterfront for $400,000 to relocate the launch from the Howard T. Brown Park at Norwich Harbor.

Peter Davis, city Director of Planning and Development, and Gary Evans, community development coordinator, presented environmental assessment reports and a history of 20 years of efforts to find a new location for a boat launch during last Tuesday's presentation.

John Paul Mereen, a former alderman and former chairman of the Harbor Management Commission, advocated strongly for the boat launch project during the presentation. Mereen said the city should have a good argument in Hartford for grant funding, because the state already provided environmental assessment money for the site and is encouraging increased public access to the state’s waterways.

Mereen also said the city should stress that all other towns that surround Norwich have some sort of state park or boat launch or other state-preserved land, while Norwich has no such amenities.

Using a $200,000 state environmental assessment grant obtained in 2014, the city hired Tighe & Bond to test the property for contamination and create a cleanup plan. James T. Olsen, vice president of the firm, said typical industrial and petroleum contamination was found on the property, and the total cleanup cost to prepare the site for a boat launch would cost about $2 million.

Davis said construction of the launch could cost another $1.2 million to $1.5 million, but project planners hope to reduce that number significantly – perhaps by several hundred thousand dollars -- because part of the cleanup that could include encapsulating contaminated soil with pavement would also be part of the boat launch construction.

Davis and Evans met with state Department of Economic and Community Development officials last week to give a presentation on the plan as part of the city’s application for a $2 million state environmental cleanup grant.

City officials hope to learn whether the grant will be awarded in time for the Feb. 1 hearing on the property purchase.

If the purchase and cleanup go forward, city officials hope to apply for additional state and federal funds for improving waterfront access.

The property at 1 Terminal Way was identified for a potential new boat launch some 20 years ago, Davis told the council. And city officials have repeatedly said redevelopment of the derelict former industrial district should be a top priority.

The city acquired another former mill building across the street at 26 Shipping St. several years ago and already cleaned that property using state and federal grants. It would be used as a parking lot for vehicles and boat trailers, project planners said.

In 2011, the Harbor Management Commission wrote a Harbor Vision Plan – endorsed by both the City Council and harbor commission – that called for moving the launch from Brown Park for public safety and convenience. The current boat launch is cramped with little vehicle and trailer parking, and is closed on several peak boating weekends for park festivals – including Juneteenth, the July 4 fireworks festival and A Taste of Italy.

Although several current aldermen were among those to endorse the plan either on the council or the harbor commission – including former Mayor Peter Nystrom, Alderwoman Joanne Philbrick and Aldermen William Nash and Gerald Martin – last week's presentation received mixed reactions.

Martin said he supports the relocation, saying the current launch has outlived its usefulness. But he asked that the proposed design accommodate launches at various tide levels of the Thames River.

Philbrick expressed the strongest skepticism about the cost and feasibility of the project as well as the location.

“Could we have found a more pathetically depressing site than this?” Philbrick said of the rundown former industrial district.

Project presenters argued that the boat launch could be the start of the long-desired redevelopment of the area, showing private property owners and potential investors the city’s commitment to improving the area.

c.bessette@theday.com

Twitter: @Bessettetheday