The town of East Millinocket could own 150 additional acres at no cost if state lawmakers approve a proposed bill.
A bill facing the Maine Legislature would see more than 3,300 acres of land in East Millinocket put up for sale or lease. The state acquired the land in 2011 after Katahdin Paper Company declared bankruptcy, but is now looking to sell or lease it. Through an agreement made during the purchase of the mill site, East Millinocket would receive 150 acres for free, but any additional land would have to be bought at market value.
It’s not common that a town is able to gain that much land for new housing developments, making this the “opportunity of a lifetime,” former Board of Selectmen Chair Clint Linscott said. Land currently owned by the town is essentially landlocked by state-owned parcels, which account for roughly 75% of all the land in East Millinocket.
“We don’t have room to expand or anything,” Selectman Mike Michaud said.
The bill is sponsored by Sen. Trey Stewart, R-Aroostook, and was approved by the Joint State and Local Government Committee on Feb. 11.
This opportunity comes while East Millinocket officials are attempting to revitalize the town more than a decade after the Great Northern Paper Company mill shut down. The roughly 300-acre site, which shuttered in 2014 and was later bought by the town, has received multiple grants and possible reuse prospects in the five years the town has owned it, including a $300 million data center, but no large developments have materialized yet.
The terms of the timber deed connected to the mill site stated that whoever bought the site would have an additional 150 acres of land from the 3,300 acres at no additional cost that is required to be used for housing, Michaud said.
The timber deed and rights for all of the acreage are held by Katahdin Forest Management, a forest service business in Millinocket.
The town has already looked at where it would want the additional 150 acres to be, Michaud and Linscott said.
One option is about 100 acres that abut the town-owned mill site. Another option would be land “directly around the town,” Michaud said.
Details on what the housing would look like or exactly what land would be chosen have not been decided yet, Michaud said.
The more than 3,300 acres include Dolby Landfill, but the town has no interest in owning that property, Linscott said.
“I don’t care if they gave it to us with lots of money, we do not want that,” Linscott said.
The town would have the first option to buy or lease the remaining land not included in the timber deed. The resolution states that the land has to be sold at a fair market value.
State assessors are looking over the land and figuring out the value, Michaud said.
An estimate of $267 an acre was given to the state six years ago, but that was a “very rough estimate,” Michaud said.
Any decision to buy additional land will be made by the East Millinocket Board of Selectmen, Michaud said, but it hasn’t been discussed in depth yet because a price hasn’t been set.
“This is going to be a decision the Board of Selectmen has to make and see if we want to move forward,” Michaud said. “A lot of it will depend on what the cost is going to be.”
The East Millinocket Board of Selectman currently has a vacancy following Linscott’s resignation on Feb. 3. That same day, the town administrator, who was also the treasurer, and the grant writer also resigned. Linscott said Michaud was the reason for the resignations, but Michaud has denied allegations of harassment cited by Linscott.
An interim treasurer and town administrator have since been appointed, Michaud said.
Despite the board having the first option, town residents have shown interest in the land in case it is put out to bid.
Residents have testified in previous hearings on the resolution to buy their own portion of the possibly available land because they see this as an opportunity to expand their land, Michaud said. Other locals have also been vocal about wanting land to expand ATV trails and parks, or their businesses, he said.
It’s not guaranteed that the state would put the land out to bid after the town has the first option, Michaud said. There have been discussions about conserving the land or a state department, most likely the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, taking over the land the town doesn’t purchase, Michaud said.
“I wouldn’t be a bit surprised, if the town buys any additional land, that what’s left over might just be transferred over to another agency,” Michaud said.