LEWISTON – There won’t be an inexpensive way out of Bates Mill No. 5, according to a group studying the building’s future.

“There really is no no-cost option there,” said Lincoln Jeffers, assistant to the Lewiston administrator. “Just taking that building down doesn’t mean the city’s spending there goes away. It means it changes, from a regular subsidy to paying for the demolition.”

The Bates Mill No. 5 Task Force will present various options at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday on the top floor of Bates Mill No. 6, 70 Lincoln St. The meeting room is reachable via an elevator or stairs and is located above Fishbones Restaurant and Willy Beans Cafe.

It will be the final public meeting before the group finishes its report and presents it to the City Council. The group is scheduled to meet with the council March 4.

Jeffers said the group will present details on three options: Renovating the current building as a convention center, demolishing the building and rebuilding something else in its place, or simply demolishing the building and leaving the eight acres under it open.

“The broader issue is that this real estate can truly define the future of Lewiston-Auburn,” Jeffers said. “The reuse, the planning for that site, needs to be focused on a long-term vision for the area.”

The task force has been meeting since May studying possible uses for the massive, saw-toothed building at Main and Lincoln streets. 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. 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.

Jeffers said the group also plans to discuss options that are no longer being considered, including using the existing building as a casino, a hotel or residential development, an entertainment or sports complex, or a family entertainment center.