Members Appointed to Mayo Mill Dam Review Committee – Piscataquis Observer

DOVER-FOXCROFT — Following last month’s vote to reject a referendum article seeking to remove the Mayo Mill Dam in downtown on the Piscataquis River — which indicated that citizens were in favor of using tax dollars to fund studies, permits and repair costs for the structure — a nine-member Mayo Mill Dam Review Committee has been formed to help determine the site’s future.

The Dover-Foxcroft Select Board Administrative Committee discussed the size and composition of the committee. At a select board meeting on July 22, nine members were appointed, with Jake Arno, Bill Erspamer, David Flaherty, Sean Hadley, Chris Maas and Sandy Perkins representing the public and Emery Cox, Vice Chairman Steve Grammont and Tracy Redmond representing the select board.

“Thank you for stepping forward and signing up,” said Select Board Chair Tom Lizotte. He said the Mayo Mill Dam Review Committee will meet — the first session is scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 1 — and that a disciplined, expeditious agenda must be developed based on a timeline of priorities.

“We don’t have two years to sit around, think and look under rocks for funding,” said Lizotte.

By June 30, 2025, the city must not only decide on the construction of hydroelectric dams and develop a plan to implement it, but also a plan for repairing the dam, making the structure safe, complying with fishing regulations, and more.

While the financial impact is difficult to estimate at this time due to variables such as repair costs and payback time, the city could be looking at an $8-10 million project.

During the meeting of the select board last month, the board decided to definitively determine the possibilities for hydropower at the dam. For this, an advisor would be selected via a tender.

Lizotte said the Mayo Mill Dam, acquired by Dover-Foxcroft in 2007, must meet all requirements of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. While Dover-Foxcroft will not spend the money in the near future, Lizotte said information needs to be gathered to determine the cost and how the needed repairs would be financed, such as through a bond.

FERC has jurisdiction over the dam because it has hydropower capabilities, but it has not been operational for over a decade. It is a long process to get FERC to relinquish oversight and it depends on whether there is hydropower or not and a plan must be filed with FERC by June 30 of next year.

Lizotte said the chances of rehabilitating the hydroelectric plant at the dam are slim due to a lack of economically viable options. The city has spent years consulting with various engineers, turbine suppliers and a private developer to try to identify a rehabilitation of the hydroelectric plant.

When Arnold Development Group of Kansas City, Missouri, converted the former factory building into apartments and office space, consultants looked at ways to restore the hydroelectric plants. About five years ago, they filed an application with the FERC, but they never pursued it.

In another conversation, City Manager Jack Clukey was asked about the position of communications director/grant applicant.

“We have hired someone to fill the position, Alsina Brenenstuhl, and she will start on August 12,” he said.

“She’s a great resource, she knows a lot about grants for everything except infrastructure,” the city manager said.

Clukey said Brenenstuhl will be present at many of the select board’s meetings to hear firsthand from attendees about their concerns.

The position is part of the approximately $8.3 million budget for the current fiscal year, as well as expenditures to establish a municipal EMS department to complement Northern Light Mayo Emergency Medical Services and to help handle the increased volume of emergency calls and staffing shortages currently facing the existing agency.

The city’s EMS department would be housed in the firehouse and would be a separate organization. The plan is to hire a full-time director who is also a paramedic and part-time EMT.

The EMS department would have start-up costs, such as purchasing an ambulance—the exact funding package would be determined in a bidding process—and all necessary equipment. ARPA funds could be used for this purpose. In the budget, the $324,185 EMS equipment cost would be covered by $274,185 in ARPA funds and $50,000 from the fund.

The Select Board’s Protection Committee met on July 16 to discuss next steps in establishing municipal EMS services. These were identified as continuing the hiring process for a director, identifying opportunities to purchase equipment, working with Northern Light Health in terms of developing necessary agreements, and maintaining ongoing communication regarding EMS services.

Fire Chief Brian Gaudet said he would meet with hospital officials next month to discuss all of this. He said hiring a director is “the biggest piece of the puzzle to move that process forward.”

“Maybe in September I will have another update on how things are going, hopefully we will move forward then,” he said.

“The new tanker truck was put into service yesterday,” said the fire chief, who said the truck still needs a number of new parts.

In early 2023, the select board approved replacing the fire department’s then nearly 30-year-old tanker, which was out of service and in need of costly repairs, with a 2024 model. The board approved a purchase agreement with Midwest Fire in Luverne, Minnesota.

A $10,000 down payment was due at the signing of the contract, and an estimated $142,300 was paid upon completion of the chassis last spring. The remaining balance was due upon completion of the truck for a total project cost of $522,735.

The Maine Forest Service loaned its tanker truck to Dover-Foxcroft for the first few months of 2023, before the start of wildfire season in April. The 3,000-gallon vehicle would otherwise have been in storage for the winter.

After that period, the city of Monson loaned a tanker truck to Dover-Foxcroft, and Gaudet said a thank-you note should be sent to the community 20 miles north. “I know we have mutual aid from them, but they didn’t have to lend us the truck for that long,” he said.

Clukey said cleanup efforts have begun at 11 Grange Street by a crew from the Charleston Correctional Facility’s Restitution Program, which is assisting the city in removing trash from the site.

“That’s moving forward, we’ve done most of the cleanup and then it will be demolished,” the city manager said. “We’ll be in a position to get it done.”

He said the city will continue to prepare the site for the structure’s removal in the coming weeks.

Last July, the council passed a building permit for a dangerous structure at 11 Grange Street after it was determined the building was in disrepair and could not be renovated due to a number of problems.

Clukey said some property work would be done before demolition, using the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council’s brownfields program to determine if and how much hazardous materials are present. He said that information, such as asbestos, would be available to contractors when they bid on the demolition.

The building, which is owned by the bank, is for sale and part of the proceeds from the transaction would be used to demolish the structure.