OXFORD — The multi-generational Robinson woolen mill passed into municipal hands Thursday as selectmen voted to take possession of the property on the shore of Thompson Lake.

The board voted 3-2 to acquire the 7.5-acre property on King Street, after Town Manager Michael Chammings said the owner had gone into default on a land purchase installment agreement to pay back taxes. Valued at $3.8 million, the property includes a three-story brick mill, a dam, a sewage treatment plant, and other outlying structures.

Selectmen criticized John Robinson, a sixth-generation member of the family that owned the mill, accusing him of not meeting obligations to the town. Robinson was not at the meeting, and attempts to reach him Thursday night were unsuccessful.

"He hasn't done anything that he said he'd do," Chairman Floyd Thayer said. "He's promised us a lot. Nothing's come of it."

The town foreclosed on the mill earlier this year for nonpayment of $244,920 in property taxes over the last three years. Robinson entered into a land purchase installment agreement with the town in April to pay off a $162,970.88 lien to bring the mill out of automatic foreclosure. The contract called for him to pay $1,000 initially, followed by a $7,000 payment by July 13, $80,000 by Oct. 13, and the final amount by March 13, 2010.

Robinson previously said he planned to subdivide and sell off certain parcels of land to pay the bill. One property he planned to sell was a 4-acre marina parcel on Thompson Lake valued at about $650,000.

Chammings said Robinson asked to make the $80,000 payment after Oct. 29, when the marina parcel was scheduled to go to auction.

When asked by Selectman Roger Jackson what guarantee there was that the town would be paid if Robinson was granted the extension, Chammings said the marina property would go into escrow if it was sold for more than Robinson owed the bank on it. Chammings said he would then be able to seek a lien on the parcel.

After a motion to grant the extension failed, Jackson, Thayer and Selectman Dennis Sanborn voted in favor of taking possession of the mill. Selectmen Scott Owens and Jay Goforth voted against it.

Chammings said the town will need to insure the property and remove the remaining waste from its treatment plant. The board has discussed the possibility of purchasing the 600,000-gallon-a-day facility, which serves several properties in the Oxford village. Central Maine Power shut off electricity to the treatment plant in early June.

Robinson had also announced plans to redevelop the mill into residential and commercial space, which would include restaurants, retail stores and a textile museum. The town previously approved a $10,000 community development block grant for the proposal, and also created a tax increment financing district for the mill and restructured its comprehensive plan to fit the project.

"We'll look into finding someone who's interested," Thayer said. "There's been some interest in it."

Linda Walbridge, director of the Western Maine Economic Development Council, was at the meeting on another issue and said the organization would offer its assistance on the issue.

Robinson Mill was built in 1840, and purchased by Joseph Robinson in 1849. It operated as a woolen mill until closing in 2004.

mlangeveld@sunjournal.com