Staff Writer
LIMESTONE — The Loring Development Authority of Maine Board of Trustees met on Sept. 9, to address an 11-point agenda including items such as a lease proposal for the new resturant on the former base, Jo Jo’s; a president’s report update on Maine Military Authority layoffs; and the monthly employment strength report. The meeting started off with the treasurer’s report of May, June, and July of 2009. The unaudited income statement balance sheet from July 31 placed the total liabilities and capital of the LDA at $64,721,034.
Board members discussed the proposed lease agreement with Jo Jo’s. Jo Jo Ouellet was present at the meeting to speak about his current business and briefly mentioned the possibility of further business ideas with the LDA. In his president’s report, President and CEO Carl Flora mentioned that Ernie Murphy decided to discontinue his resturant after nearly five years of operation of the Flightline Café, a popular eatery on the former base. New resturant Jo Jo’s occupies the location of the former Flightline Café.
Flora also discussed about nine other items with board members during his report.
Since first meeting with the board in April, American Salmon Company (ASC) has been moving ahead steadily with their project, which aims at constructing a salmon production facility on a proposed 10-acre industrial site.
Chlorinated water is one facet of viability that ASC is currently working with the LDA to solve; according to Flora’s report, salmon cannot tolerate chlorine even at very low concentrations. Were the ASC to use water from the LDA treatment plant, the chlorine would need to be removed first in a process which is expensive. The ASC is currently looking for a suitable source of non-chlorinated water — ground water or filtered surface water. It is projected that the daily fresh water requirement for the ASC project would fall between 80,000 and 400,000 gallons. That number varies based on which recirculation model is decided upon.
Two test wells were drilled to provide information on groundwater potential. Data showed that there was an insufficient volume of groundwater for it to be a stand- alone source for the facility, though groundwater is an option for providing a supplemental source of non-chlorinated water.
Continuing the meeting with fish-based projects, Flora updated board members on the status of the Madawaska Dam fishway; the LDA has been working to obtain funds for repairs to the fish-ladder, which would allow fish to travel upstream. The project has a price tag of approximately $150,000. Members of the LDA has been trying for about a year to fund the project and are committed to completing the fishway upgrade as soon as possible.
According to the president’s report, the system design capacity of the surface water treatment plant of the Loring Commerce Centre is undergoing assessment from the Maine Drinking Water Program; the assessment is done as part of a new regulatory framework designed to limit water withdrawals from surface water bodies within the State that could jeopardize the aquatic environment.
Ming/JAC Group wind turbine project was also briefly discussed in the report; while nothing major was reported, Flora stated that the companies’ representatives continue indicating that their intentions are to move forward.
Moving forward at an incredible speed, the board members were informed of the Loring Timing Association Land Speed Racing event held at the beginning of August. During his report, Flora mentioned how safety was of the utmost importance to those who attended, citing one incident in particular from where one racer tipped their bike over at 220 miles per hour, sliding over 1,000 feet before coming to a stop. The motorcyclist did have one relatively mild abrasion, but suffered no serious injuries.
Flora also mentioned that a new world record was set in a modified cycle class at a speed of over 265 miles per hour. Though there were no serious commitments made at the time of the meeting, board members urged one another to sign up for next year’s high speed racing event.
Telford Aviation has been sold to Air Cargo Carriers Holdings, LLC of Milwaukee, Wisc. Flora stated that reportedly, the Telford name will still be used and a demonstration to military customers of the 80K Skybus project, which many may have seen flying about the sky in the past few months.
Flora reported that the Maine Military Authority (MMA) is at risk to possibly layoff 152 employees in October, due to budget cuts. Tim Corbett, CEO of MMA stated that Congressman Michaud has been successful in getting language into the House appropriations bill that would restore $20 million of the $37.5 million budget reduction. Flora also reported that Sens. Collins and Snowe are working on the Senate side to restore funds, stating that if this amount survives the conference process, it would reduce the projected layoffs by approximately 50 percent.
The board was also informed that the National Job Corps office recently notified the LDA that Job Corps rejected the efforts of the LDA to develop a contract for specialized fire protection services and that $975,000 in infrastructure appropriation funds has been approved in the Senate, though it still needs to be resolved favorably in conference.
The employee strength report stated that there were 1,408 individuals employed at the Commerce Centre as of Aug. 31, up from 1,401 in July.
