Pennsylvania firm plans 100-employee sawmill Timetable ‘fluid’ for Sapling Township project

SAPLING TOWNSHIP – In a project touted by Gov. Baldacci, a Pennsylvania-based company has proposed construction of a sawmill designed to produce 200 million board feet of dimension lumber annually.

SMIS Group LLC of West Chester, Pa., filed an application with the Land Use Regulation Commission earlier this month to rezone 90 acres in Sapling Township to pave the way for the project.

The township is near the Piscataquis and Somerset county line, near Moosehead Lake.

“This is a significant investment – it’s going to employ 100 people,” Gov. John Baldacci said Friday. The company says the project would cost some $60 million, but it disclosed few details.

Edward Marra, president of SMIS Group, said Friday the project is in the very early stages of development and he is working with federal, state and local agencies to move the project forward. The timetable is “very fluid,” he said.

“We’re very excited about it,” Marra said. He declined to give specific details about the project other than to say it would be a mill capable of producing 200 million board feet of dimension lumber a year.

Marra’s group has bought 300 acres in the township and has asked to rezone 90 acres from general management to commercial industrial development subdistrict for the project, according to Catherine Carroll, director of LURC.

She said Friday that the company has proposed to leave the remaining acreage in general management to serve as a buffer for the sawmill.

Baldacci said the biggest reason behind the company’s proposal to build in Maine is his Pine Tree Development Zone initiative.

He said state officials are working with Somerset County commissioners to amend the county’s Pine Tree Development Zone application to include the Sapling Township property so the company could qualify for the benefits of the economic development program.

Carroll said she anticipates that the requested zone change will be presented for action at LURC’s meeting June 9 in Greenville. The application is being reviewed by LURC staff and a recommendation will be made to the commission.

“It’s a big application and it requires a very extensive review,” Carroll said. She noted that the applicant has been working very hard to address the conditions for the zone change and has been very cooperative.

The company has not yet applied for a permit to develop the property, Carroll said.