Final Report

Attached is the final report for the Bates Mill # 5 Task Force.

Mike Carey
Lewiston

Appendices

Below are the combined links to appendices for the Bates Mill #5 Task Force Report. A few files have not yet been uploaded. Please email batesmill5@gmail.com if you are looking for those particular files.

Mike Carey
Lewiston

I. TASK FORCE

1. CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION
2. COMMITTEE ROSTER
3. PUBLIC MEETINGS: Jan 5th Minutes, Feb 26th Minutes
4. PUBLIC MEETING FACT SHEET
5. FEEDBACK FROM PUBLIC
6. PUBLIC EMAILS AND LETTERS

II. STRUCTURAL INFORMATION

1. BATES MILL #5 HISTORIC CAPITAL EXPENDITURES MEMO
2. BATES MILL #5 OPERATING COST MEMO
3. SHELLEY ROOF STRUCTURAL INSPECTION REPORT
4. PROTZ CONCRETE STUDY
5. FORMER BATES CHIEF ENGINEER LETTER TO EDITOR

III. PLANNING

1. LETTER TO COUNCILS FOR JOINT DOWNTOWN PLANNING
2. WESTERN GATEWAY REDEVELOPMENT PLAN and MAP
3. BATES MILL MASTER PLAN

IV. DEMOLITION

1. BEAUPARLANT MEMO/ESTIMATE
2. COSTELLO ESTIMATE
3. END WALL CONSTRUCTION ESTIMATE
4. SPREADSHEET FOR DEMOLITION 20 YEAR COSTS
   

VI. CONVENTION CENTER

1. COOPER & LYBRAND STUDY
2. ME CONVENTION CENTER STUDY
3. ECONOMIC RESEARCH ASSOCIATES 2001
4. ECONOMIC RESEARCH ASSOCIATES 2003
5. ECONOMIC RESEARCH ASSOCIATES 2008
6. CITY REFERENDUM RESULTS
7. PLATZ ASSOCIATES OVERVIEW
8. PLATZ ASSOCIATES – SPACE ALLOCATION
9. CONVENTION CENTER CONSTRUCTION ESTIMATE

VII. OTHER USES

1. RKG ASSOCIATES HIGHEST AND BEST USE LETTER
2. PARKING GARAGE AS REUSE MEMO (PLATZ)
3. CULTURAL/ACADEMIC SUBCOMMITTEE REPORT
4. RETAIL SUBCOMMITTEE REPORT
5. CONVENTION CENTER SUBCOMMITTEE REPORT
6. LA MUSEUM ECONOMIC IMPACT REPORT
7. RFP POINT SYSTEM IDEA
8. BATES MILL PARKING AGREEMENT SCHEMATIC

2003 ERA Conference/Convention Center Economic Analysis

In 2003, ERA was commissioned to update their 2001 conference and meeting analysis. As previously, they but the analysis and projections on a survey of groups who were in the suggested market of a Lewiston-Auburn Convention Center.

Here is a link to that file.

Mike Carey
Lewiston

L/A Excels Laid Early Joint Planning Framework

The L/A Excels effort of the Cities of Lewiston and Auburn placed any future re-use of Bates Mill #5 and its site at the center of a revitalized downtown Lewiston/Auburn. While at the time of this effort, the joint planning was simply a charette-based initiative, the pending Joint Downtown Master Plan may lay a policy framework to unify the downtowns as one economic unit, rather than two.

See here is a map depicting the planning efforts for downtown L/A arising from the L/A Excels process.

Jonathan LaBonte
Auburn

Task Force: Equal Cost Means Many Options

My co-chair and I penned an Op-Ed in today's paper. Check it out.
Equal costs mean many options
By Rep. Mike Carey and Jonathan LaBonte Special to the Sun Journal

Sunday, February 17, 2008

What to do with Bates Mill No. 5 is a critical decision for the Lewiston City Council. The building's size, history and location offer a unique opportunity and a daunting challenge. Our community debate should be grounded in our shared vision for our cities.

The Bates Mill No. 5 Task Force is a group of 15 citizens tasked by the former city council to identify options for using the building and the site. We will not make a formal recommendation - the decision rests with the city council. The task force's goal is to foster a community debate about the building and site, and how it can help realize our communities' goals.

The decision of how to use Mill No. 5 is difficult, because every option is expensive. There are generally three basic alternatives: continuing the current use, demolition, or rehabilitation. Each use will most likely result in losses of between $300,000 and $400,000 per year...finish reading

Mike Carey
Lewiston

Elliot Epstein: The Value of Mill No. 5

Sun-Journal Columnist Elliot Epstein wrote this week about the history of Mill No. 5. Click on the picture or article title to read in its entirety and view reader comments.

The value of Mill No. 5

By Elliott Epstein , Rearview Mirror
Sunday, February 17, 2008

What's the importance of an old building? Just the soul of a community, that's all.

The fate of Bates Mill No. 5, a Lewiston landmark, now hangs in the balance. In the next few months, the city will likely decide whether this 94-year-old structure is to be demolished, sold or renovated.

If Mill No. 5 were the White House, the conclusion would be foregone. The executive mansion has had many publicly funded makeovers in the past two centuries, including an almost complete reconstruction from 1948 to 1952.

Yet no one ever considered razing and replacing it with a glass-and-steel office tower, topped by a presidential penthouse suite. After all, its elegant façade is an icon of American political power.

Mill No. 5 is not on symbolic par with the White House, but it's a potent symbol nonetheless: of U.S. economic power. It represents the junction of two great epochs of America's Industrial Revolution - textiles and automobiles...

Click here to finish reading.

Mike Carey
Lewiston

Councilor Reed Economic Development Column

Lewiston City Councilor Robert Reed penned a column in the Feb 7th edition of the Twin City Times. His topic was Lewiston Economic Development in general, and Bates Mill No. 5 in particular. To read, click on the image below:

Mike Carey
Lewiston

Lewiston Master Plan

The Lewiston Master Plan was finished in October 1999 by the Mayor’s Downtown Renaissance Task Force in association with RKG Associate, Inc. Click on the picture for a larger plan:

What is currently the Western Gateway was split between two Districts (Mill District and Western Gateway District). They had the following goals: “Develop as attractive, viable entryway to the City” and “Continue to develop as major employment center in the downtown.”

The relevant Short Term (1-2 years) actions are:

• Work in conjunction with Auburn to bring about a hotel/conference center complex in the downtown area.
• Evaluate usage of Mill #5 as a possible parking structure.
• After demolition, consider properties adjacent to Mill #5 and Main Street as a redevelopment site or for a boulevard treatment and greenway entrance.
• Continue development efforts at Bates Mill including parking (allowing for landscaping and buffering).
• Evaluate feasibility of an arts/cultural complex in the Bates Mill;

The relevant Medium Term (3+ years) Actions are:

• Consider creating a “canal walk” atmosphere around the District.
• Consider limited expansion of canal system in this district to stimulate developer demand (views of river, quick access to bridge, etc).
• Evaluate feasibility of a community college in the Bates Mill.
• Evaluate feasibility of artists lofts in the Bates Mill.

Master Plan resources include:

• City web site with good narrative overview
• Report Cover Sheet which includes the list of significant actions and the Mill District portions of the plan
  
• Section 1 which includes the the Western Gateway portion of the plan

Mike Carey
Lewiston

Joint Downtown Planning

The Task Force believes that Lewiston and Auburn downtowns function economically as one community. We believe that downtown planning efforts should reflect that. We sent a letter to both councils urging the creation of a Lewiston/Auburn Joint Downtown Planning Commission.

Mike Carey
Lewiston

Sun-Journal: Task Force Update

The Mill 5 Task Force met with Former Bates Head Engineer Bud Lewis on Jan 31st. The Sun-Journal reported on that meeting and on the work of the Task Force. Click on the article title to read entire article and comments.

Former Bates engineer urges razing Mill No. 5

By Scott Taylor , Staff Writer
Monday, February 4, 2008 LEWISTON - Emotion will play as big a role in the future of the Bates Mill No. 5 as common sense, according to a former building engineer.

"It's a money decision, but that's not what it's going to come down to," said William B. Lewis, former chief engineer at Bates Manufacturing. "Some people are practical and others tend to be sentimental. How people are, that's what's going to decide this."

Without a doubt, Lewis said he's on the practical, common-sense side. He's advocating for tearing the building down. It's an idea he offered in a letter to the editor last month and one he discussed with the Bates Mill No. 5 task force Thursday.

According to Lewis, the circa 1912 building was never built to last, and years of vibration from looms have caused stress and other deterioration. Years of neglect will make it expensive to fix.

But he admits its size will make it expensive to tear down... Finish Article

Mike Carey
Lewiston