Town forms agency to revive mill

OXFORD — The Oxford Board of Selectmen moved forward with a plan to establish a non-profit organization that will assume ownership of Robinson's Mill, minutes after residents voiced their opinions during a public hearing on March 17.

Residents of the town expressed concern about spending money in the effort to stabilize and revive the structure, and also expressed a desire to see the rehabilitation of a road running through the old mill property.

The road once allowed for easy access across the waterway.

"Opening up this road has a significant effect on this village, for those of us who can remember when that road ran through there," said one resident.

Town Manager Michael Chammings said that the cost of renovating the road would make such an effort prohibitive.

Selectman Scott Owens recalled an estimate of $2.2 million to bring the road back to working order.

"In reality, with the investors that are going to come in and buy that building ... for them to drop two and a half million there is just not realistic," said Chammings.

Residents expressed concern that the building could turn into an endless series of costs to taxpayers as it is renovated.

"We're not trying to redo the whole building," said Chammings. "We're trying to stabilize it and make it usable. Once someone gets in there, we have people interested in it right now, if it is rehabbed like that. I've had several meetings with these people saying they would offer us more money for it if that was taken care of and the power was put back in."

The hearing was a requirement of a grant that town leaders hope to net. If they are successful, the town will receive $250,000, which would need to be matched by $50,000 in local funding.

Chammings said that $100,000 of the money would be used for wiring alone.

"The bulk of that would just go to the wiring, and to stabilize the building," he said.

The grant is a part of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program that is specifically geared toward non-profit development.

In order to submit an application for the grant, the town formed a state non-profit entity that will temporarily take control of the beleaguered property.

The board appointed Ron Kugell, Gary Morgan, Peter LaVerdiere, and Dennis Fournier to the board of directors of the non-profit, which is named the New Oxford Economic Community Action Agency.

If Oxford doesn't win the grant, the organization would likely be disbanded.

The board also voted to commit $50,000 from the town's building reserves fund to the project, contingent on receipt of the grant.

The deadline for the grant application is in late March.

The board voted to take control of the mill in October 2009 for back taxes, by a 3-2 vote of the board.