The Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority will host its next emergency board meeting Tuesday, Oct. 1 — its second since one of its hangars spilled 1,450 gallons of a toxic firefighting foam concentrate mixed with 50,000 gallons of water at Brunswick Landing.

The second meeting will offer another chance for board members to go into executive session to speak with legal counsel and review a list of demands issued by Brunswick Town Council, including the request to shut down foaming fire suppression systems by the end of the month at MRRA-owned hangars. The board may also discuss personnel matters during executive session amid continued calls for Executive Director Kristine Logan’s resignation.

The meeting will coincide with two additional events, including one hosted by Brunswick Area Citizens for a Safe Environment (BACSE), a nonprofit formed in 1990 to inform the public and ensure that the environment is protected at the former Naval Air Station, which has long been a superfund site.

District 5 Councilor Jennifer Hicks said that she hopes for a “robust turnout” at these three meetings, noting that Brunswick residents need to stay “vigilant and visible” as the community presents demands for more transparency and public safety from MRRA. She said that meeting those demands starts with removing of all PFAS substances at the former base and completing actions outlined in a Sept. 3 council resolution.

“A large presence by the public will help to continue pressuring those responsible for the toxic spill in Hangar 4 to take seriously the broad impact of this tragedy and ensure that it never happens again,” Hicks wrote in an email. “If this issue stops making ‘front page news,’ it will reduce the urgency for MRRA, the Department of Defense, Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Maine state legislature, and the Governor’s office and our community will be left dealing with the outfall of the spill without the necessary resources and the distinct possibility of an even greater tragedy.”

Brunswick state Rep. Dan Ankeles echoed Hicks’ sentiment, adding that continued “overwhelming pressure” will guarantee the results that the community has been working for over a month.

The first MRRA board meeting in the wake of the spill took place Sept. 24, a Friday afternoon, and drew over 100 residents and local leaders in person and on Zoom to call for action and accountability from the quasi-state organization.

After the two-hour public portion of the meeting concluded, the board then went into executive session to discuss personnel matters given the continued calls for Logan to step down and to discuss the demands from the Town Council with legal counsel.

Board Chairperson Herman “Nick” Nichols disclosed after this meeting that another board meeting was coming given the need for more time to deliberate the demands, including the call for a temporary fire suppression system shutdown at the airport. The next emergency board meeting will feature another executive council session.

Ankeles said in a social media post on Wednesday night that he expects the MRRA board to provide an update to asks the Town Council presented at the first board meeting.

“Again, the legislative delegation and municipal elected officials and staff are more than happy to lend our energy and our resources to ensure success,” Ankeles wrote in the post. “But we are also watching carefully and with an appropriately healthy skepticism. Speaking for myself, I am on guard for unreasonable delays and anything that could leave property taxpayers on the hook.”

The next board meeting will take place at Town Hall in the council chambers — a move pushed for by the Town Council to increase accessibility to MRRA activity.

Also on Oct. 1, BACSE will host an open house at the Brunswick Recreation Center’s Welcome Center at the back of the building (off Venture Avenue). This will be an opportunity for residents to learn about the organization and the cleanup efforts at the former Naval Air Station.

The following day, the Restoration Advisory Board, formed in 1995 by the Department of Defense to oversee the cleanup of the former base, will meet virtually. At this meeting, the Navy will provide updates and reviews on ongoing work at Brunswick Landing, including activity related to PFAS chemicals. The meeting agenda shows time dedicated to historic and ongoing PFAS remediation efforts surrounding the Jordan Avenue well field and Hangar 4, where the spill occurred on Aug. 19.

Meeting details

The MRRA board meeting is at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1, at Town Hall. Those interested in attending can do so virtually or in person. The meeting is scheduled to run until 7 p.m.

The BACSE open house is from 4-6 p.m. Tuesday, prior to the MRRA board meeting, at the Brunswick Recreation Center.

The RAB meeting is from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2, and is virtual only. For more information or to watch the meeting, visit content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USNAVFAC/bulletins/3b69111.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly described the origins of the Restoration Advisory Board.