Norway board will sign Opera House loan

NORWAY — Selectmen at their September 6 meeting voted to sign a $400,000 bond anticipation note that will partially fund renovations to the 1894 Norway Opera House. 

The board will sign the loan with Norway Savings Bank. Because of her employment with the bank, Selectwoman Irene Millett abstained from the vote. 

"This particular project would not be a reality without the participation of Norway Savings Bank," said Town Manager David Holt.

By signing the loan with NSB, the town can pursue its contract with H.E. Callahan, from Auburn, to begin the work. The project is estimated to cost $1.1 million, which includes restoring the back wall of the building. 

The loan has an annual interest rate of 3.75 percent, said Holt. "It's not a 30-year commitment, it's just for the project," he said, moments before the board's approval. 

According to Holt, the $400,000 loan is just temporary. He said once Governor Paul LePage releases a $400,000 Communities for Maine's Future grant he froze in June, the town will hopefully be repaid. 

The bond is expected to be released June 1, 2015. 

Selectmen said without taking the risk of signing the loan, the town's $400,000 in historic tax credits would be lost, as well as the $130,000 the town has already spent on architectural and engineering fees. 

The town took eminent domain of the building in 2010 when it was deemed a public hazard. In 2007, the building suffered a partial roof collapse which has left the storefronts vacant since. 

The ownership of the Opera House was recently transferred to non-profit Norway Opera House Corporation, which is in the process of raising additional funds. 

Over the past five years, hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent to save the building, including a $200,000 donation by Selectman Bill Damon and his wife, Bea.