RUMFORD – At Wednesday night’s River Valley Growth Council meeting, a majority of members agreed to auction off the former Diamond Match mill in Peru.
The 80,000-square-foot mill complex was turned over to the growth council in 2003 by its most recent owners, the Archibald family of Mexico.
Speaking on behalf of the Property Management Committee, Bill Hine motioned to have the council begin the bid process to get rid of the mill.
He said the committee suggested that there be no minimum bid required.
“It was not a mistake for the growth council to take that property two years ago,” he said.
“We made two good faith attempts to get cleanup money. Now, the right thing to do is sell this. I don’t think we should hang our heads on this,” Hine said.
He said that the council’s second application for a cleanup grant of $200,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency was unsuccessful.
The funds would have been used to clean petroleum spills, to remove any remaining asbestos from the complex, and for other environmentally related cleanups.
The cleanup was needed before a new tenant could move into the building.
A council member said the council had lost thousands of dollars trying to get the building ready for reuse.
Member Seth Carrey, the lone dissenter, wanted the council to hold onto the land.
But acting Chairman Dick Lovejoy said that there wasn’t enough money in the council’s budget to continue funding the maintenance and upkeep of the building, as well as liability insurance.
Lovejoy said the roof is leaking and the building is in bad shape.
“Some of us toured the building, and it’s a pretty scary thing to do,” he said.
Growth council Executive Director Joseph DeRouche said that regardless of who buys the complex and land, the council would still help the eventual owner with marketing.
The building, he said, is in one of the area’s state-approved Pine Tree Economic Zones, which is a marketing plus.
Certain businesses that locate in a Pine Tree Zone are eligible for a variety of tax incentives.
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