I believe the residents of Rumford should agree to contract with Poland Spring. The Water District could receive approximately $400,000 in annual lease payments.
A member of the Rumford Water Alliance said that if the Water District raised the rate to $63 per quarter, the district would receive $350,000 yearly, negating the need to accept the Nestle deal.
But A.E. Hodsdon gave an estimate that the Rumford Water District could spend close to $8.1 million through the next decade replacing old, pre-1940 water mains. The downtown project will cost the Water District close to $1 million for new water mains and piping. The other proposed projects in the near future include $250,000 for the Falls Hill booster station, High Bridge water main and to replace Swift River Bridge water main.
The Water District, with 1,600 customers, will not be able to support those future projects with the high tax rate in Rumford. The town would increase the tax rate and every taxpayer in town would be paying for the Water District’s future projects.
The Rumford area is known to be not business friendly. Poland Spring might well move northerly, into Andover, and find plenty of areas along Ellis River to install new wells. The small town of Andover would benefit with the yearly lease payments to support their school system.
Richard McInnis, Rumford
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login to participate in the conversation. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.
-
Boston Red Sox
Pivetta tosses complete game two-hitter as Red Sox top Astros, 5-1
-
Lewiston-Auburn
Police: Man stabbed in Mechanic Falls
-
Lewiston-Auburn
Shots fired in Lewiston, police say
-
Schools & Education
UMF Faculty Senate issues no-confidence vote in Chancellor Malloy
-
Lewiston-Auburn
Photos: Riding in silence in Lewiston