FARMINGTON – A five-story residence hall proposed by the University of Maine Farmington was approved by the town Planning Board Monday. Construction is expected to begin by fall on the 100-bed dormitory, to be located on campus between Lincoln and Perkins streets.

A public hearing was held on the issue and though no public comment was made, several issues were brought up by board members.

Roger Spear, vice president for administration for UMF, assured the board that no parking problems are expected. The additional parking spots that are required by the town’s zoning ordinance will be provided, although details for that plan are still being worked out. He also said that the parking would be provided before construction on the hall commenced.

Because of the proposed rainwater collection system to be used for the building’s toilets, concerns were voiced about calculating the school’s wastewater bill. Such bills are usually figured by measuring water intake. Since the building would not have any municipal water intake for the toilets, the water leaving them could not be measured, a unique situation, said board chair L. Herbert York.

Although the water will not be taken from the system, it would still need to be treated at the wastewater plant. Representatives from UMF offered to add a meter to the rainwater tank that would measure intake from it, thereby giving the town a means by which to charge for the wastewater treatment.

York was also concerned with the logistics of building two projects in the same vicinity simultaneously. The education center is also slated to be built nearby.

“It looks like a heck of a logistical problem,” said York.

But university representatives said that the plan for the education center is still in the fund-raising stage, and the earliest construction could begin would be next spring.

The project was accepted by the board, with all but one member voting in favor. The lone abstention came from Thomas Eastler, whose voting rights had earlier been reinstated since he was not currently working for the university.

The application for the subdivision of the former Osborne farm, recently sold to Scott and Thomas Dillon, was also approved.

Fred Hardy of New Sharon owns fields abutting the retained land behind the project, and that land would not be developed at this time.

He also promised to have a covenant written that would specifically notify potential buyers that they are purchasing property in farm country.

Ron Slater of Sandy River Recycling presented a plan for a composting facility at its site on Dump Road. The program will target institutional food waste from Franklin Memorial Hospital, UMF and SAD 9, and will also use the town’s garden waste initially. It is expected to reduce institutional trash by about 20 percent.

The compost program will be a regional pilot project and will receive funding from the state planning office. Slater said he hopes eventually to be able to offer composting to private citizens. He believes that the site will be self-sustaining by selling the composted waste back to the community for fertilizer. The board approved it unanimously.

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