BIDDEFORD — After 25 years, the City of Biddeford may soon be entering a new chapter.

On Tuesday, in an 8-1 vote, city council gave initial approval authorizing City Manager John Bubier to enter into a purchase and sale agreement with Maine Energy Recovery Company to purchase the downtown waste-to-energy incinerator for $6.65 million with the intent to cease operations. A second council vote is still necessary.

Several noted this was a momentous occasion.

“I’ve waited 25 years for this,” said Councilor Richard Rhames prior to casting his vote in favor of the purchase and sale agreement. “Moments like this don’t come along every day,” said Rhames, who has opposed the incinerator since its inception.

“This is one of the most important decisions the city is going to make in my lifetime,” said resident Michael Eon and former president of Twin Cities Renaissance, a group formed in 2000 in response to concerns about the incinerator.

If the council votes for final approval of the purchase and sale contract on July 31, and certain other conditions are met, the deal would close by Nov. 15, incineration would cease within six months of the closing and all but the facility’s smokestack would be removed within a year.

Payment for the plant, at no interest, would take place over 20 years. The majority of the payments would come from revenue from cell phone company leases and from a special city district fund.

In addition to the cost of the facility, the city would also lose approximately $850,000 Maine Energy pays in tax revenue. Approximately half of the funds would be made up from increased state aid. The rest would come from an increase in the property tax rate, according to city officials.

City Finance Director Curt Koehler estimates over the 20-year payment period, the cost of the deal would lead to a tax increase, based on a home valued at $200,000, totaling $1,664, which averages to about $80 per year.

The incinerator has come under attack by many in the community for a number of years. Issues associated with the facility ”“ including pollution, odor and traffic ”“ have been blamed as significant reasons that development in the downtown and the mill district has stagnated. Many also believe there are health issues within the community, which have never been proven or quantified, related to emissions from the facility.

People gave a number of reasons why they favored the city buying and closing Maine Energy, such as the potential for greater redevelopment and improved public health.

Former Mayor Joanne Twomey, who opposed Maine Energy since it opened, said she favored its closure because she was concerned about its effect on public health. One of her main concerns is that the incinerator releases dioxin, a known carcinogen.

While in office, Twomey came close to making a deal to retrofit Maine Energy to eliminate some of its significant offenses like odor and traffic. However, she said, she walked away from that deal because it called for Maine Energy to burn waste pellets and she was concerned that dioxin would still be released.

“There are no safe levels of dioxin,” said resident Dennis Rioux, who is also chairman of the Conservation Commission and favors the sale and closure of the plant.

Some said they favor council approval of the deal because of the fear of the unknown if it didn’t go through.

Casella Waste Management, the incinerator’s parent company, intends to leave the incineration business, said Joe Fusco, a company spokesman, in a prior interview.

If the council doesn’t act, someone else could step in and purchase the plant, said Eon. Then there would be a great deal of uncertainty of what would happen at the Lincoln Street site, where the facility is located.

A number of people said they favored the deal because it would lead to greater redevelopment in Biddeford.

The incinerator has done “damage to the reputation and economic viability or our downtown,” said Rhames. Without it there would be many possibilities for redevelopment.

Seth Harkness, president of the Biddeford Landlord’s Association and the owner of several apartment buildings in Biddeford, said he believes the incinerator’s location in the city keeps some people away.

“It’s time to see what our city can accomplish without the weight (of Maine Energy) on its shoulders,” he said.

Not all favored the purchase and closure of Maine Energy.

“Where do we fit in this purchase and sale agreement?” asked Jessica Quattrone, whose husband works at the facility.

Her husband is one of about 80 people who work at the incinerator, she said. Their lives, along with the lives of their families, will be interrupted and many may have to leave the area to find jobs.

In addition to the workers and the families, said Quattrone, others who will be adversely affected by the closure are the local businesses where they spend their money and Biddeford taxpayers, who will have an increase in their property tax rate.

Resident Dennis Labbe said he had “mixed emotions” about the deal.

“I agree the place should be gone,” he said, but he was concerned about a tax increase.

Resident Mike Morin said he thought the issue should go to referendum to let the people decide.

One controversial point regarded the incinerator’s stack that will remain at the site. It will remain for an unknown period of time because contracts with cell phone companies that lease space on the stack will be used to pay for the incinerator purchase.

Several people, such as residents Daniel Parenteau and Bill Robbins said they were concerned about the stack remaining and the environmental dangers that could come about when it’s finally removed.

Councilor Roch Angers said he wants Casella to remove the stack because it is a stigma to the city, and he does not want “any symbol of that plant there.”

He made a motion, which failed, for the city to renegotiate with Casella for the removal of the stack.

“I don’t like having a stack in the middle of the city,” said Councilor David Bourque. However, he said, “We can take it down when we own it.”

He said he didn’t want to jeopardize the current deal by going back to the negotiating table.

“My biggest concern about the stack is what’s coming out of it,” said Councilor Michael Ready.

From the Casella point of view, the potential of ending it’s time in Biddeford “is bittersweet,” said Brian Oliver, a regional vice president with the company.

The company has being working on “strategic resolutions” between the city and Maine Energy for many years, he said.

“There have been numerous failed attempts,” said Oliver, but “we’re happy where we landed.”

In addition to the purchase and sale agreement with Maine Energy, the council also gave initial approval to a waste handling agreement and a recycling agreement.

Under the waste handling agreement, the current tipping fee the city pays Casella to take its waste of $46 per ton would increase to $55 per ton. Employees with the Department of Public Works would continue to pick up waste, and they would bring it to a transfer station yet to be built in Westbrook.

The recycling contract, at an annual cost of $381,000, would establish the first curbside recycling program in Biddeford. It would begin July 1, 2013.

Casella would provide waste and recycling containers to city residents free of charge.

While city council gave initial approval to all three contracts, a final vote on all three, scheduled for July 31, is still needed.

In addition, several other conditions must be met before the deal is finalized. One of the major conditions is that the city receives favorable findings from environmental studies at the incinerator site. Another is that Casella receive a permit from the Department of Environmental Protection to bring in-state municipal solid waste, from Biddeford and 13 other communities it has contracts with, to the state-owned landfill at Juniper Ridge in Old Town. Casella contracts with the state to operate that landfill.

— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 324 or dmendros@journaltribune.com.