GREENVILLE — A local man and his two Canadian partners have announced plans to break ground by Thanksgiving for the development of Maine Lumber LLC, a $12 million log stud mill that will employ 50 people on two shifts.

Greenville businessman David Sinclair confirmed Friday that the project is moving forward. The Department of Environmental Protection will hold a public hearing on the proposal at 7 p.m. Aug. 28 at the Greenville municipal building. After the hearing, the company will request a site permit and an emissions permit.

Local and county officials are pleased about the development of the new business.

“This is some really good news — well-needed,” Mark Scarano, director of the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council, said Friday. “This investment — and the proposed $20 million expansion of Pleasant River Lumber Co. in Dover-Foxcroft — is adding to Piscataquis County’s wood-products cluster and is making Piscataquis County the center of wood manufacturing in the region.”

The best part, Scarano said, is that this new mill will not be in competition with the Dover-Foxcroft mill or Moose River Lumber Co. in Jackman. In addition, it will add to the town’s economic diversity and historical background in wood-products manufacturing, he noted.

Sinclair also is excited for the region. He said the new jobs should help solidify the local schools and the hospital, both of which have been affected by population decline in the region.

A local economic development booster, Sinclair has worked to develop such a project since 1988 when the Dirigo Lumber Mill went out of business in town and 100 jobs were eliminated.

“I’ve tried several ways to get it built but didn’t find the right people until now,” he said Friday.

Partners in the mill that will be constructed next to Greenville Steam Co. are McNutt Lumber Co., a lumber wholesaler from Fredericton, New Brunswick, and Neal Pelletier of Quebec, who is experienced in quality control in drying and marketing lumber. McNutt Lumber Co. holds the majority ownership.

Maine Lumber LLC, which will buy small logs, will produce dimensional lumber from spruce and fir. Sinclair said the company plans to purchase power and steam from Greenville Steam Co. and in return will sell the waste products of the sawmill — the bark and sawdust — to the steam company.

Full production at the mill, which will have the capacity to mill 100 million board feet a year, is expected to occur by this time next year. Sinclair said three buildings will be constructed to serve the sawmill, dry kiln and planer mill.

To assist the developers, Greenville officials are seeking a $250,000 development block grant. These funds are designed to provide gap financing to local governments to assist businesses to create or retain jobs for low- to moderate-income people, according to Scarano.

The town also will seek an infrastructure block grant in order to provide water and wastewater services to the facility.

Although these funds would help the project proceed faster, Sinclair said, the project will not stop if these grants are not funded.

The partners are committed to the project, he said.

"This content originally appeared as a copyrighted article in the Monday, August 26, 2002 edition of the Bangor Daily NEWS and is used here with permission."