WINSLOW – A deal to take over Crowe Rope Industries’ operation in Winslow could fall apart unless bidder Yale Cordage Inc. sweetens its offer, said Town Manager Edward A. Gagnon.Yale Cordage, a Biddeford-based rope maker, wants to keep Crowe Rope’s growing business but does not want to pay a lease for the town-owned facility and land for at least a year, Gagnon said.

A rent-free arrangement, however, does nothing to reduce the debt burden for the town, which still has $5.1 million to pay on the $6 million it borrowed to help Crowe Rope retrofit the building.

“The town needs some income to pay down those bonds and that basically is where the problem is,” Gagnon said.

The town continues to bargain with the bidder but refuses to provide a facility rent-free, Gagnon said. A hearing on the proposal is scheduled for Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Portland.

With principal and interest, the town paid $589,000 on the loan this year. While that payment falls to $505,000 in 2002, the expense still is considerable for a town that already faces tight finances, Gagnon said.