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OAKLAND

Officials to discuss Cascade site cleanup

By Scott Monroe smonroe@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

OAKLAND -- Town, state and federal officials are scheduled to meet today to discuss whether federal grant money can be redirected toward cleaning up the site of the fire-ravaged former Cascade Woolen Mill.

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SADDENED: Betsy Tipper looks at the still smoking remains of the five- story section of the Cascade Woolen Mill in Oakland on Monday that was destroyed by fire early Sunday. Tipper, and husband Gerald previously owned the mill, said she was saddened about the loss of the historic building and happy their were no injuries.

Staff photo by David Leaming

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The town government has meanwhile taken a step to buttress the chance that the remaining $120,000 of the $200,000 grant will cover the expense of removing the charred remains. A Jan. 24 fire destroyed the 127-year-old structure in the heart of downtown Oakland.

The town had last year been awarded the "brownfields" grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to clean up the site.

Town Manager Peter Nielsen said the Town Council recently approved a motion to leave $76,763 that's owed to the town in an escrow account. The building's owner and lone tenant is Michael Dye, of Hallowell, who owns K-D Display & Design, Inc. and the town government holds the mortgage.

At its peak in the 1980s and early 1990s, the Cascade Woolen Mill employed 250 workers. The company closed in 1997.

After consulting with the town's attorney, town councilors have unanimously decided not to tap into the mortgage money in escrow and instead wait for work to finish on redirecting the grant money, Nielsen said.

"The town could have said 'no, pay us back; we'll take the money and we're done'," Nielsen said, referring to the money in escrow. "But the town applied for that grant on the basis of holding a mortgage. If the town had said to Mike Dye, pay us off, the grant would have gone away."

The EPA had originally determined that soil under and around the old mill was contaminated with metals, volatile organic compounds and inorganic compounds.

Nielsen said he will be meeting today with officials from the EPA and state Department of Environmental Protection to discuss whether the environmental concerns on the site -- as originally identified under the grant -- have changed in the aftermath of the fire.

"That could impact how grant monies are utilized," Nielsen said.

Investigators with the State Fire Marshal's Office were not able to determine a cause of the blaze because of the extensive damage, but classified the case as accidental.

Scott Monroe -- 861-9253

smonroe@centralmaine.com