BUCKFIELD – Chairs were added as more than 100 people streamed into the Buckfield Sumner High School on Wednesday night to discuss the fate of the debt-ridden Buckfield Village Corporation, the town’s water company.

Letters had been mailed to every resident, regardless of whether or not they were in the corporation’s water district. That district is, itself, nebulous because in 1887 when the corporation was established by the Maine Legislature it encompassed school district No. 4, as well as the Winslow Packing Co. property. No one knows where the old school district was at that time, which clouds the picture as to which households could actually be assessed for payments by the water company under its charter.

Steve Levy, executive director of the Maine Rural Water Association, listed options for the town, but none of the options actually the corporation’s debt of nearly $2 million. Bankruptcy is not an option because the bonds were secured with the taxing authority of the corporation. In order to dissolve the company the number of customers would have to fall below 10, and according to Maine Rural Water, that route would be very expensive.

Town Manager Glen Holmes said the state sees no way out unless a grant could be secured. Applying for a grant to install a well from subsurface water would eliminate a large portion of the operating budget, it was explained.

Another suggested option was to consolidate the debt from the filtration system required by the state in 1999 and a bond for the piping under Route 117 required by the Maine Department of Transportation before it would pave the road. This way, the interest could be lowered, according to Holmes.

If things are left as they are, the household rate could be as high as $828 per year.

Questions from the large crowd centered on how households were charged for the water. There are only a few metered dwellings and people are charged according to the number of taps they have.

Penny Horsefell wanted to know how she and others could be held responsible for a debt that was incurred long before they became homeowners, and why the former owners were excused from the debt. Holmes said the current customers actually own the corporation.

Another audience member asked what is being done with the money being collected by the corporation. Levy said the money coming in pays the corporation’s operating expenses, leaving no funds to apply to the debt.

Along with comments criticizing the corporation board, there was praise for the hard work that had gone before to try to keep the corporation afloat. Levy held up a stack of papers nearly a foot thick – and weighing four pounds – to show how much work has been done to solve the debt issue.

Holmes said the recommendation by Terry Hayes to form a committee to study whether the town should take over was one of the most productive suggestions of the night.

There was a plea from Lou Williams, superintendent of the corporation, for people to attend the meetings, which are advertised, and give input. Only customers of the corporation can vote on anything, but the board will listen to input, he said.

Most people present said they wanted to contain the “cancer” before it got any worse and put more minds into finding a solution.