Mayo Mill Dam license surrender to be paid in a lump sum

DOVER-FOXCROFT — The cost to surrender a key license for the downtown Mayo Mill Dam on the Piscataquis River will be paid in one lump sum, pending voter approval, the Dover-Foxcroft Select Board ruled during a March 26 meeting.

The select board opted to abandon plans to pursue hydropower at the Mayo Mill Dam earlier this month, due in large part to a lack of financial sustainability, and also to surrender its dam operating license. Renewing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license could have cost $1.2 million.

The cost to surrender the license is yet to be determined, but expenses for consults, legal work, engineering studies and more could total between $300,000 and $500,000. 

A town meeting article will be drafted, Select Chair Tom Lizotte said. One option that was discussed included one article that would authorize the board to raise and appropriate up to $250,000 in the 2025-26 municipal budget, and another article that would authorize borrowing up to $250,000 in other monies to cover additional expenses for the license surrender.

Dover-Foxcroft has a two-part process for voting on such an issue. Articles are first voted on at the annual meeting, which will be at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 26, at the municipal building gym. Items approved that day are moved to a referendum vote on the second Tuesday of June.

“The goal is to repair the Mayo Mill Dam, not to get rid of the Mayo Mill Dam,” Lizotte said. “But whether we keep the dam or sometime in the future we don’t have the dam, surrendering the license must be done immediately.” 

The cost to repair the dam is estimated to be between $7 to $10 million. Financing the project over a timespan such as 25 years could add an additional $6 million in interest. A warrant article could seek funding for the millions of dollars needed to repair the structure. 

“The good news is the long-term impact will not impact next year’s budget,” Lizotte said. “The bad news is the [Federal Energy Regulatory Commission] license surrendering will.”

The select chair said it is possible the repair article could be voted down, and then the possibility of retaining the dam may need to be revisited.

In other business, the select board voted to withdraw the town’s offer to retake possession of the Penquis Higher Education Center at 50 Mayo St.

The building has been a local school for years; in the early 2000s what is now RSU 68 consolidated its elementary schools and gave the building to Dover-Foxcroft.

Soon after, ownership was transferred to Eastern Maine Community College, which wanted to open a satellite office to offer courses for the region. EMCC has had less of a need for a full building in recent years, so it approached the town about taking over the Penquis Higher Education Center. The town’s talks with Foxcroft Academy developed into looking at the facility as a home for career and technical education programs for both high school and post-secondary students.

About $2 million in upgrades would be needed for this endeavor, and the town was awarded $1.5 million in federal funding in congressionally directed spending. That funding disappeared when earlier this month Congress approved a bill that averted a government shutdown but cut out earmarks for states, including hundreds of millions of dollars for Maine.

“Without the congressional money to do the rehab of that building we would be in a situation where if the town took over that building, we would have to handle all the overhead costs and have to handle all the expenses for that for an unpredictable length of time rather than just a year while the building is being rehabbed and then turning it over to Foxcroft Academy to run it,” Lizotte said. 

The federal funding may or may not be restored. 

“The only certainty now in Washington, D.C., is uncertainty,” he said.

“I don’t think it makes sense for the town of Dover-Foxcroft to take on that expense, we already have more than our share of old buildings,” Lizotte said. He mentioned the town office, Central Hall, police station housed in a Victorian-era home and firehouse built in 1925.

EMCC has notified its building tenants of the situation including the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council and Piscataquis Valley Adult Education Cooperative.

The Penquis Higher Education Center would likely be put up for sale, and Lizotte said the building might be suitable for senior housing.

During open session, Piscataquis Area Community Center Executive Director Manda Stewart gave an update on the Park Street facility. 

Everything is open except for the pool, which will need to be sanded and acid washed and then painted. The estimate is about $8,000 but the paint should last seven to 10 years, Stewart said.

The goal is to have the pool open in April, but the paint will need to dry for about two weeks before water can go in.

“The rest of the facility is looking phenomenal,” Stewart said.

She said the town of Abbot recently contributed $2,500 to the center.

“Our expenses last month were on track, we have not lost nearly as much money as we budgeted to lose so that’s a huge win,” she said. 

Stewart mentioned bringing in $16,000 in revenues and having $15,000 in bills over the same timespan. “So we’re definitely going in the right direction,” she said.

“I’m definitely happy it’s going so well,” Selectperson Cindy Freeman Cyr said, saying she is glad to have such a facility available.

In her report, Interim Town Manager Alsina Brenenstuhl said Gordon Contracting, the Dover & Foxcroft Water District and the Maine Department of Transportation are getting utility lines upgraded and in place for the reconstruction of the East Main and South streets intersection. 

“I am pleading to the public to plan accordingly and respect side roads,” Brenenstuhl said.

“Be mindful GPS is not the end all, be all,” she added, mentioning not to use Grove Street as a downtown bypass as the dirt portion of the road is currently closed to all but local traffic due to mud.

Brenenstuhl also asked drivers to respect orange cones and barriers and not attempt to go around these. She said the barricades are placed to not only protect roads during the thaw but also travelers as the town does not want to see anyone incur unnecessary costs because of tows or vehicle damage. This will also help the public works department when the time comes for road repairs. 

At this time of year, some roads are posted for weight limits and everyone is urged to use caution when driving on these designated travelways.