LEWISTON – Members of a task force studying the future of Bates Mill No. 5 are looking for public input Saturday on possible uses.

“This is really a listening session,” said Lincoln Jeffers, assistant to the Lewiston city administrator. “We want to hear from as many people as possible about their ideas and concerns.”

The meeting begins at 2 p.m. Saturd ay at the top floor of Bates Mill No. 6, above Fishbones Restaurant. Members of the task force will lead a tour of the building, and then return to the Mill No. 6 meeting space for the public forum

The task force has been meeting since May studying possible uses for the massive, saw-toothed building at Main and Lincoln streets. It is scheduled to report back to city councilors by February.

Appointees include Lewiston and Auburn residents, business leaders, elected officials from Auburn and Androscoggin County, as well as developers.

The building is the last part of the Bates Mill Enterprise Complex that the city still owns. The site has been considered for a convention center for years, but nothing has happened. The city continues to spend $400,000 annually in maintenance costs, according to city officials.

The city set aside $3 million in the 2009 capital improvements plan to pay for demolition of the building.

Copy the Story Link