LISBON

Voters headed to the polls Tuesday won’t find any contested local races but will be asked to authorize borrowing up to $3.4 million in an effort to redevelop a riverfront where an old mill sits deteriorating and to make water sytem infrastructure improvements.

The Town Council is asking voters to authorize issuing up to $1 million in general obligation securities to acquire and demolish the Worumbo Mill, which has sat dormant on Canal Street, near the Route 196 intersection, since 2006.

The crumbling concrete building went on the market in 2009 for $999,000 and though the town tried to help sell the historic building, there were no takers.

The mill sits on 5.5 acres of land facing the Androscoggin River. If it decides to purchase it, the town would also get five parcels on Mill Street totaling 10.9 acres — a net assessed value of $400,300.

The cost to acquire the properties from current owner Miller Industries would be $100,000, with additional costs of about $520,000 for demolition, $75,000 for ground cover, $60,000 in environmental analysis and $15,000 in legal fees. The town would pursue “brownfields” grants to help with some environmental cleanup.

As Lisbon works on a vision for its Route 196 corridor, town officials have argued that the decaying mill offers an opportunity to redevelop some of the property and to retain a portion for green space to shape the future of the property as a gateway into town.

Some residents have agreed it’s time for Lisbon to take action and work on bringing commercial development to increase the tax base; others have argued they don’t want the town in the real estate business and that Lisbon taxpayers can’t afford the purchase.

Councilor Fern Larochelle said during a Sept.17 meeting when the Town Council voted to put the bond before voters, “this is really going to be a vote for the people to determine whether or not you want to invest in your downtown to make it look better and move forward in a more positive way.”

The Lisbon Water Department is proposing bonds for two projects totaling $2.4 million.

The department is proposing to issue up to $1.75 million in bonds and notes for construction of a water tank on Upland Road; as well as a $650,000 bond for replacement of approximately 4,300 feet of water main on Frost Hill Avenue and Old Lisbon Road.

The department is seeking to replace the section of water main on Frost Hill Avenue because the transit pipe is soft and subject to breaking, officials said. In the ground 12 feet in places, the depth of the current pipe increases the cost of repair.

Paul Adams, the general manager for the water department, said about two years ago there were three breaks within 48 hours along the main.

The $1.75 million bond issue to allow the town to locate a new 1 million-gallon water tank on Upland Road would help provide fire protection and a secondary route for water from Lisbon to Lisbon Falls, said Water Commission chair William Bauer. Currently, most of the town’s water comes from Lisbon and is piped to Lisbon Falls, he said.

Tim Sawtelle of Dirigo Engineering said the town’s water system currently has two painted, steel tanks — one in Lisbon built in 1922 and a tall tank in Lisbon Falls.

The tank in Lisbon has “pretty much outlived its useful life,” Sawtelle said, and the other is at about the halfway mark.

“The big issue with these tanks is it costs a very large amount of money to paint them every 20 years and they’re at different elevations, so it complicates operating the water system for the water department,” Sawtelle said.

The water department proposes to install a dualchamber tank on Upland Road that can serve both systems from one place, doesn’t have to go offline for maintenance, and that would help maintain water pressures. A 60-year cost analysis showed the new tank would cost less than maintaining the two existing tanks.

While the water department is asking for a total of $2.4 million for the two projects, Adams emphasized at the Sept. 10 meeting that “anywhere we can reduce that cost and cut that amount, we will,” adding these are high cost estimates prior to a bidding process.

The Lisbon Water Department has to get permission from the Maine Public Utilities Commission to complete the project and have a study done by the Maine Rural Water Association to determine what it needs for rates to cover the project cost. Ratepayers face an estimated 36 percent increase.

Municipal elections

There are no contested municipal races Tuesday. Available on the Town Council are an at-large seat currently held by Fern Larochelle, a District 1 seat held by Gina Mason and a District 2 seat held by Roger Bickford.

Bickford is running for a second three-year term. Christopher Brunelle is running for the three-year atlarge seat and Eric Metivier for the three-year District 1 seat.

Incumbents Traci Austin and George Caron are running once again for two, three-year terms on the School Committee. Water Commissioner Bill Bauer is the sole candidate on the ballot seeking the three-year term on the commission.

The Lisbon polls will be open Tuesday at 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. District 1 voting is at the Superintendent’s Office at 19 Gartley St.; District 2 voting for Lisbon Falls residents is at the Marion T. Morse Center gymnasium at16 School St.

dmoore@timesrecord.com

Lisbon vote

¦ THE LISBON polls will be open Tuesday at 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. District 1 voting is at the Superintendent’s Office at 19 Gartley St.; District 2 voting for Lisbon Falls residents is at the Marion T. Morse Center gymnasium at16 School St.