A proposed plan would also cut the city’s investments

at the mill nearly

in half.

LEWISTON – Councilors are scheduled to weigh in on a proposed Bates Mill exit strategy Tuesday night.

City Administrator Jim Bennett unveiled his plan designed to cut the city’s costs at the complex Nov. 18. Councilors are scheduled to vote on the plan at 7 p.m. Tuesday at their regular meeting.

The agreement would give developer Tom Platz and his partners control of most of the remaining mill buildings. The city would keep buildings Nos. 5 and 9, according to the agreement.

Platz would not pay for the remaining buildings. The city would continue to pay annual support, pay for some environmental cleanup and exterior renovations and would need to provide parking for the project.

But the move would also cut the city’s investments at the mill nearly in half, from an estimated $59.2 million over the next seven years to $27.5 million. It does that by limiting the number of parking spaces and the extent of environmental cleanup the city has to provide. The deal also gets the city off the hook for interior renovations at the remaining mill buildings and some $750,000 annually in operations support.

In other business, councilors are scheduled to ratify a labor deal with the local firefighters union. The deal would allow firefighters to retire after 25 years on the job and set prices for a city emergency medical service.

The current contract, which expired one year ago required firefighters to pay 7 percent of their health insurance premiums but gave them 34-cent, across-the-board raises and retroactive pay increases.

staylor@sunjournal.com