Much has been written lately about what to do with the Bates Mill No. 5. Apparently, because the city has been unable to come up with a workable plan for it, the solution is to blow it up and fill in the canals with the debris.
I think that would be a huge mistake, and one residents would live to regret.
Many people see it as an expensive noose around taxpayers’ necks that needs to go away, but that is just how it has been promoted. I would bet that if young people in the community were asked what they thought should be done with the building, they could come up with some pretty viable ideas.
I have heard some of them.
Before anything gets blown up, I would ask the local high school and community college students, and the newest professionals, what they think should be done with Mill No. 5. After all, they are the ones who will be driving this community into the future, and it should be their decision. They should at least be considered before destroying such a historical landmark.
We just need someone who can think of a better mouse trap, and it’s obvious it has not been members of the Lewiston City Council.
John D. Reeder, Lewiston