Oxford preps for casino

OXFORD — The Oxford Selectmen settled down to their regular session while a crowd filed out of the room after a special town meeting on zoning and mass-gathering ordinances.

Town Manager Mike Chammings explained that, since the ordinance changes were enacted by the town, the board needed to make decisions on needed infrastructure improvements, and adopt a means to deal with new construction standards set by the state.

Even though no cost estimates are yet available, Chammings was instructed by the selectmen to proceed with the process of establishing a TIF (Tax Increment Financing) plan to provide water and sewage lines to the proposed site of Black Bear Entertainment's (BBE) casino-and-resort on Rabbit Valley Road, as well as portions of Coldwater Brook, Pottle and Webber Brook Roads including Birch and Staples Avenues. The combined projects would involve laying 19,200 feet of pipe, not including a pump station, reservoir and hydrants. In all, approximately 150 current commercial, industrial and residential occupants would be served, in addition to the casino-resort, according to the town manager's written summary for the board.

The board also approved Chammings' recommendation that he be authorized to proceed with measures to secure a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). to rehabilitate various parts of the old Robinson Mill. The town manager said it is necessary to stabilize the massive structure and make the plant more attractive to potential buyers. He told the board that some potential buyers had been leery of the structure's  condition,  including, but not all, related to the dam.

According to Chamming's interpretation of the current CDBG rules, a special nonprofit corporation will have to be established to accept and administer the grant. He noted that in both the CDBG and TIF processes, the Western Maine Economic Development Council is supporting the effort.

In addition to focusing on the larger projects, the board also acknowledged a donation of $300 to the town's Holiday Food Fund by Oxford Auto Salvage.

A recent state law requires the implementation of the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code (MUBEC). That act, in turn, requires a contractor to have a certified third party inspect structures for compliance. If a town's code enforcement officer (CEO) is not a state- certified inspector, it must still require the builder to find a certified inspector, Chammings explained.

The current CEO, Rodney Smith, is not certified and, although the state offers the necessary classes for certification periodically, it would take Smith until the summer of 2012 to complete the credentialing process. The training costs would be well under $1,000, not including the loss of Smith's time from other projects, Chammings estimated. The only significant costs, for materials such as reference books and a computer disk, would be billed to the town.