RUMFORD – Plans so far haven’t gone as hoped for the development of the former Diamond Match mill in Peru, but the River Valley Growth Council and the Peru Board of Selectmen want to continue to try to find a use for it.

The most recent disappointment was the unsuccessful federal grant application for cleaning up some of the hazardous wastes produced during its many years as a mill. Scott Christiansen, RVGC economic developer, said he will continue to try to find funding for the cleanup, as well as continue the search for a potential buyer.

The mill’s most recent owner, Alan Archibald, turned the mill over to the growth council last year for future development.

The mill is in one of the River Valley’s Pine Tree Economic Zones, which means certain businesses that locate in it qualify for a variety of state tax breaks.

The growth council has been having the floor boards removed and sold during the past few months. This task, which has been overseen by Christiansen, is a time-consuming project that takes him away from other duties, he said.

As a result, RVGC board member Ernie Robichaud volunteered to oversee the salvage operation, along with the help of Bill Hine. The job is expected to take from four to eight hours a week.

Hine, a former Peru selectman, told the council that his town’s board has agreed not to collect property taxes on the sprawling former mill for as long the the growth council owns it.

Comprehensive plans

If every town in the River Valley area had a comprehensive plan, the RVGC’s actions to bring greater economic development to the region would be more effective. That’s the message RVGC executive secretary Mary Dube told the board Wednesday night. She coordinates the organization’s strategic plan.

To help get plans written in those towns without a comprehensive plan, and to help update plans that are more than six or seven years old, the RVGC is working with the Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments to bring assistance to area towns at the River Valley Technology Center.

One of the benefits of having a comprehensive plan is that it helps qualify towns for a variety of state and federal grants, she said.

The dates and times for these informational meetings offered by AVCOG will be announced later.