Planning underway for Mayo Mill Dam removal

DOVER-FOXCROFT — The multi-year process to remove the Mayo Mill Dam on the Piscataquis River in downtown Dover-Foxcroft has begun.

The co-managers of the dam removal project, The Nature Conservancy Freshwater Restoration Manager Eileen Bader Hall and Atlantic Salmon Federation Piscataquis River Project Manager Jon Viti, gave an update to the select board during an Oct. 27 meeting.

The two organizations have worked with the town for multiple years.

“The Piscataquis River is a major priority for The Nature Conservancy and and for Atlantic Salmon Federation because of just the incredible amount of habitat that’s available for endangered Atlantic salmon and other sea-run fish species and native fish as well,” Bader Hall said.

After years of research, including work by two separate dam committees, residents in June voted down authorizing the select board to borrow up to $9 million for the retention and repair of the dam via a 659-297 count. The select board was given the go ahead to work with external partners to remove the Mayo Mill Dam and restore the town’s riverfront. In August, the board formalized an agreement with The Nature Conservancy and the Atlantic Salmon Federation.

Going through a slideshow on the project status at the Oct. 27 meeting, the select board was told that after the August agreement survey work was done on site, including a mussel survey that has been completed and should be delivered soon. Wetland delineation, a critical component for permitting with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was carried out over the summer.

A contract has been signed with Interfluve, an outfit that has worked on the site previously, for engineering and design with tasks including sediment removal and disposal.

“The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission surrender application will be ready to submit likely this spring once we’re very close to the 100% design plans,” Bader Hall said.

Field work was set to be completed by the end of October, Viti said. 

“All the field work and all that data that they collect is going to go into their different design iterations,” he said, with designs being submitted at the 60, 90 and 100% marks. 

Between these stages, the design goes out to the town and various partner agencies for comment, which the engineers will review.

The dam surrender application is scheduled to be submitted to the federal agency in April and review takes about 18-24 months.

“So a pretty long turnabout there but fortunately for us that gives us plenty of time to work on a lot of those permits Eileen mentioned,” Viti said, such as with the DEP and historic preservation.

Permitting should be complete by 2027 and then the removal project can go to bid with an eye on the summer of 2028 for work. The schedule is subject to change.

The scope of work will consist of “removing the entire structure of the dam right down to the bedrock including the gatehouse and the powerhouse as well,” Viti said. 

Opportunities will be available for public input on what they would like to see and not see at the site.

Interfluve is working on everything involved with removal, Bader Hall said.

The company is coordinating with the Maine Department of Transportation as the adjacent East Main Street bridge will be replaced sometime after the dam project is done. Interfluve is also coordinating with the Essex Street bridge a bit downstream set to be replaced at the same time dam work is being done.

Leaving the dam as is was not an option. The structure was obtained by the town after a mill closure in 2007 and it hasn’t complied with federal regulations for over a decade. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission cited multiple structural deficiencies in a recent study. Ideas of retrofitting the dam and using it for hydroelectric power were deemed too expensive.

Had residents approved repairing the dam, the $9 million price tag would have been spread out across 25 years, with a 5% interest rate, putting the project cost at $14,107,600, including $5,107,600 in interest. The projected annual cost would have been $664,000.

In other business, the select board voted to approve the purchase of a second ambulance for the town’s EMS department from Autotronics. The new vehicle, which should be in service early in the new year, will help with coverage. An idea to rotate, with one ambulance being the primary and the other the backup, was mentioned.

When the EMS department was developed several years ago, the plan was to be a backup for Northern Light Health, Fire Chief Brian Gaudet said. 

Plans had the municipal EMS responding to 60-100 calls annually, but this number has surged, with 165 medical calls coming in the last few months alone, including some at the same time.

“The biggest issue we are having right now is increased mileage, maintenance, break downs; we don’t have a backup plan,” Gaudet said, adding that the department has the staffing but not a second vehicle.

“I know taxes are high in town but this is a crucial benefit in town to have two,” he said.

The total cost would be over $454,000 with the ambulance fully outfitted with stretcher and radio systems and supplies. 

Gaudet is working on grant opportunities and other avenues to save money. He would like to use $60,000 from fire capital reserve.

The plan is to have a lease/purchase agreement with Androscoggin Bank, with payments being $53,000 to $55,000 a year over a decade and then the vehicle would be purchased for $1.

“No money needs to be appropriated, no money needs to be put down,” Gaudet said, noting that payments would be built into future budgets.

“I think everybody’s doing the best they can right now, I just think people are shortstaffed,” he said about other EMS providers in the region. “We try to do the best we can to help the whole situation without leaving our town vulnerable.”  

“We didn’t start this process with the intention of being primary and I can’t say that loud enough,” Selectperson Joel Vail said. 

Now the town is trying to do the right thing so someone calling 911 does not end up being told there is no help available.

Those with concerns can reach out to the board’s protection committee, Vail said.

“We understand taxes are high and we try to make any decision we make less painful if possible,” he said.

The select board heard an update on the Piscataquis Area Community Center from Executive Director Manda Stewart on the Park Street facility.

“The pool once again is on hold,” she said. “We were hoping to start painting this week but we still are waiting for more epoxy to fill more holes because there were more little holes than we thought.”

The vinyl siding project has begun.

“If you drive by it’s got fancy bright green house wrap on it, which looks very nice,” Stewart said.

The center now has a massage therapist set up for appointments, as well as a small food pantry in the entry way that anyone is welcome to or to drop off items to help those in need.

A holiday lighting competition is being planned with a driving tour listing of the various entries.

The pool situation sounds frustrating, but better to take care of everything now, Select Chair Steve Grammont said.

“If we continue to do what we are doing now, nobody should have to touch it for 10 years and when they do it should be drain it, wash it, paint it,” Stewart said.