PSU Students Present Ideas For Gorham Paper Mill Lagoon Property

Press release from PSU:

Dec. 15, 2022

Plymouth State University (PSU) students recently presented their research findings and proposed seven recommendations for how 40 acres of wastewater lagoon property at the White Mountain Paper Company (WMPC) in Gorham, New Hampshire, might be developed, should the company execute its plan to decommission the lagoon and establish a closed loop connection to a municipal treatment plant.

The 10 students enrolled in Special Topics in Law and Entrepreneurship, through a sponsored collaboration with the paper mill, presented their recommendations on Thursday, December 8, 2022, before WMPC majority owner Evan Behrens, PSU President Donald L. Birx, Ph.D., Executive Councilor Joseph Kenney and other state and community representatives, including Gorham Town Manager Denise Vallee, Chuck Henderson from Senator Jeanne Shaheen’s office, and Brian Bresnahan from Congresswomen Anne Kuster’s office.

“The students did an excellent job in identifying thoughtful and imaginative concepts and backing their proposals up with in-depth research and business plans, and we appreciate that the students took the initiative to understand what the paper mill has historically meant to the region, and then focused their ideas in a forward-looking manner that will facilitate growth and advancement,” said Behrens. “We are thrilled with the results of this collaboration with PSU and hope to accomplish more together. In the days to come, we look forward to evaluating the students’ recommendations and engaging further on potential next steps. Ultimately, we are hopeful that in conjunction with the city of Berlin, the town of Gorham and the state, we will be successful in finding a sustainable plan for decommissioning the lagoons and be in a position to redevelop this land in a way that benefits the local community and New Hampshire’s North Country as a whole.”

The students proposed the following projects:

• The Solar Hive, by Eoin Hamell-Kelleher: The plan is to use the parcel to build a one-megawatt, four-acre solar farm, which would provide energy for the mill and the community, and revive the natural flora of the land with a field of beehives placed in and around the solar farm.
• The Gorham Sporting Emporium, by Austin Malool-Juneau: The plan is to build an outdoor outfitting store that would supply the surrounding Coos County residents with their sporting needs in a 15,000-square-foot showroom, along with a seven-lane, indoor shooting range.
• Picks & Kicks, by Anton Friberg and Jack Berrigan: The plan is to build an all-ages athletic facility that contains indoor basketball courts, pickleball courts, a turf soccer field and more.
• Industrial Motel, by Goldie L. Graulich: The plan is to build a 48,000-square-foot building dedicated to manufacturing, with six different vendor booths for lease, with the goal of attracting Canadian companies to incubate their businesses in the North Country. The remaining acreage would be landscaped for beautification and to serve as a buffer for nearby residents.
• White Mountain Adventure Center, by Elisabeth G. Russell: The plan is to build a recreation resort that will provide indoor activities like rock climbing and serve as a hub for nearby outdoor recreation such as fishing tours, guided hunting trips, hiking, cross country skiing and more.
• Cascade Cabins, by Tyrese James: The plan is to build 15 lodging cabins to be rented on a nightly and monthly basis, to fill a specialty housing niche to support the local tourism industry.
• The Brews & The Bees, by Grace K. Burns, Joseph D.B. Mitchell and Ethan R. Stuckless: The plan is to build a 2.5-barrel brewpub and farm-to-table restaurant and convert the remaining acreage into a pollinator garden and public permaculture park, with walking trails.

The full report can be provided upon request.

The presentations were held in the Ray Burton Open Laboratory space of the Lamson Library at Plymouth State University in Plymouth, New Hampshire. Following a lively period of questions and answers, Executive Councilor Joseph Kenney presented the students and their instructors, PSU Associate Professor of Business Law Chantalle Forgues, JD, LLM, MBA, and PSU Instructor of Business Lisa Perras, MBA, CHI, with an official commendation from Governor Chris Sununu for their exemplary work.

Before the fall semester began, Forgues, invited 10 students from various disciplines, including marketing, pre-law, finance, sociology and others, to participate in the semester-long course. The course is co-led by Perras, a North Country native, and falls under the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Cluster. In keeping with PSU’s pioneering Cluster Learning Model, the course draws upon the expertise of community partners and resources from other disciplines such as economics, accounting, land use and French-Canadian culture.

“The most rewarding part of this project was to have a real-world experience, when it comes to learning,” said student Grace Burns, who presented Thursday. “Traditional classroom learning, on its own, can get a bit dull, but PSU’s Cluster Learning Model makes learning interesting and engaging for students and prepares us better for our careers.”

Students began their research by visiting the paper mill facility and the nearby wastewater treatment lagoons, in the fall. Over the next three months, they assessed zoning regulations and area property values, studied the history of the region and the impact of the historic mill on the local economy and solicited comments on Facebook, surveyed residents with canvassing and held a public meeting outside the mill on Nov. 13.

White Mountain Paper Company Background

Behrens Investment Group acquired the mill assets of the former Gorham Paper and Tissue Mill out of bankruptcy on December 31, 2020, preserving more than 70 jobs in the community and sparing the mill from liquidation and permanent closure. White Mountain Paper crafted a strategic plan focused on implementing key initiatives relating to energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. These strategic initiatives will allow WMPC to be one of the most environmentally responsible paper mills in the country, while remaining competitive, reducing economic volatility, and allowing for future growth.

The city of Berlin, in collaboration with WMPC, has been awarded $100,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to fund preliminary engineering work to explore the feasibility and initial costing of the proposed closed-loop system. This funding was pursued at the recommendation of former New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development Commissioner George Bald, who acts as an advisor to WMPC, and with support of the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.

To learn more about Plymouth State University, visit www.plymouth.edu.

This press release was produced by PSU. The views expressed here are the author's own.