ORRINGTON – Residents’ views on the issues surrounding the now-closed HoltraChem Manufacturing Co. plant are the focus of a public informational meeting tonight at Center Drive School.

The meeting, scheduled for 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the cafeteria, is being convened by the town’s five selectmen to hear what townspeople have to say about the plant and its environmental and economic legacies.

Though the meeting is open to the public, according to an announcement in the most recent issue of “Town Talk,” the official town newsletter, selectmen have set some ground rules to ensure everyone has a chance to be heard. Only Orrington residents will be permitted to speak during the meeting. Those who do speak should identify themselves and limit their comments and questions to three minutes. Comments and questions should be constructive in nature, and audience members should refrain from interrupting those who are speaking.

The purpose of the meeting is to provide a forum for the exchange of information and ideas, Town Manager Dexter Johnson said Wednesday. In their effort to make sure they are representing the community’s best interests, selectmen may take nonbinding straw polls on some issues.

Though it’s been closed since last fall, the former chemical plant continues to be a source of concern for local officials, who are now in the process of trying to find ways to offset the loss of dozens of jobs and a significant chunk of the town’s tax base.

Once the second largest taxpayer in Orrington, HoltraChem paid a quarter of a million dollars in property taxes. When it closed, the town lost 70 good-paying jobs. Though Johnson said that the tax bill for last year was paid in full, when and if this year’s bill will be paid remains in question.

There are also more than 80 tons of toxic mercury to contend with. The plant used mercury to make a variety of chemicals, mainly for paper companies. Some of the products, such as chlorine, are also known to cause health problems if they are released into the environment in large quantities. The mercury remains at the plant.

At an earlier community meeting, state and federal environmental officials said they hoped to have a draft cleanup plan completed this winter. A final plan would be approved the following year, with cleanup to begin in the spring of 2003.

The agencies are currently negotiating with a former owner of the plant, Mallinckrodt Inc., to have that company assume legal responsibility for the cleanup since HoltraChem is in the process of dissolving as a corporate entity. Mallinckrodt is the only former owner of the plant that is still in business.