Working group discusses options for Eastern site

BREWER – No short-term solutions were achieved, but long-term possibilities remain on the table, a city leader said after Tuesday’s meeting of the governor’s informal working group on redeveloping the defunct Eastern Fine Paper Co. mill site.

Gov. John Baldacci, state officials, city leaders and union representatives involved in the closed-door session would not give details about what was discussed during the one-hour meeting.

However, three companies new to the scene have shown an interest in the mill, a state official said after the meeting.

Brewer owns the site, and city officials have said the 405,000-square-foot facility could be used as a forum for artists to create and display their work, a historical museum, loft apartments, a light manufacturing site, retail and office space, or any combination of activities.

The South Main Street site is located in an urban core near an interstate spur, with existing rail service, 1,400 feet of Penobscot River access, high-volume water and sewer services and its own generator.

The mill closed in January and its parent company, Eastern Pulp and Paper Co. of Amherst, Mass., was sold at the end of May. Part of the sales agreement turned over the mill to the city for development. Thousands of gallons of hazardous material remain at the site. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency began cleanup of the facility on June 14 and will begin removing the chemicals Thursday.

“There are a number of options that are in the till,” Brewer Economic Development Director Drew Sachs said after the meeting.

The next step for the city is to start seeking grant funds for redevelopment and getting suggestions and input from residents about what they would like to see at the location, Sachs said.

Fewer than 10 companies were discussed during the closed-door meeting, said Gail Kelly, who sits on the Brewer City Council and is the regional representative for U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe. Of those companies, most were involved in papermaking, she said.

One thing decided during the meeting was that Brewer would take the lead on future developments, Kelly said.

At least one of the options discussed during the gathering is viable, Mayor Mike Celli said.

“I don’t know if there is any one single option standing alone that will solve the problem,” said Celli. “A combination of possibilities might work out.”

After the meeting, Commissioner Jack Cashman of the Department of Economic and Community Development said that three parties are interested in the mill site, but he would not say who they are.

“We are dealing with three other prospects who are new to the scene,” the commissioner said. “We’re going to continue to deal with them and work with the city on them. We have to formulate a plan to move forward if these things don’t work out.”

The state’s and the city’s objectives are the same, Cashman said. The “objective is to develop this property in a way that replaces the jobs” and to create a development scheme that is in line with what the city wants, he said.