Prock Marine will be returning to the Wiscasset harbor soon to continue work on the Point East Maritime Village marina, Point East project manager Scott Houldin said Tuesday.

The newspaper contacted Houldin by phone to get an update on the 239-slip marina project, as well as the proposed gasification plant for the Point East industrial park. The answer to whether or not the company will pursue the gasification plant is tied into whoever wins the election this fall, he said.

"We don't know - we are going to wait for the national political climate to settle," Houldin said.

As for the marina, Houldin confirmed that the work that Prock Marine did last month involved removing some old pilings to make room for new pilings to hold floats in place.

"Point East Marina will open for the 2008 boating season with 20 to 25 slips," he said.

"We had a window of time, from November to March, to complete that work. Prock Marine will be back later in the spring to complete the rest of the job."

Houldin said the floats are being built and are scheduled to be delivered in late March or early April, beginning the first phase of the project.

The Point East Maritime Village and Marina is being built on 33 acres of land on the Birch Point peninsula, where the closed Mason Station once generated electricity. The site, except for acreage in the middle where Central Maine Power Company transformers and other facilities are still located, was purchased by National RE/Sources, Point East's parent company located in Greenwich, Conn. The company, which specializes in redeveloping old industrial sites, bought the land in December of 2004.

Other activity underway at the Mason Station includes the removal of asbestos from the building. A spokesperson from Morrissey Construction recently confirmed that they are doing the work, but referred questions to Point East.

The turbines that had once generated electricity at the Mason Station are still on site, and have not been removed yet, according to Houldin.