A committee representing the solid waste interests of 115 Maine municipalities voted unanimously Thursday to enter into an agreement with a capital investment firm to consider jointly owning and operating the shuttered Coastal Resources of Maine recycling and waste-to-energy plant in Hampden.

The committee, which plans to buy the facility for about $1.5 million, noted the agreement with Revere Capital is subject to further committee review.

Revere Capital of Dallas was founded in 2006 and is a private credit manager with expertise in commercial real estate bridge lending and specialty finance, according to its website.

The Municipal Review Committee, composed of officials from the member municipalities, decided to buy the plant after many entities that showed interest in doing so were found not to be qualified.

The vote Thursday followed an hourlong executive session that committee President Karen Fussell described as a meeting to consider proposals for partnering on reopening the facility.

Fussell said after the vote it was an exciting step for the committee in its efforts to reopen the Hampden plant.

The committee later issued a news release stating it believes it is in the best interest of the MRC and its member communities to hold talks with Revere Capital toward the goal of developing a long-term agreement for the ownership, operation and management of the plant.

“For this reason, we have awarded exclusivity to work with Revere Capital and its partners toward an agreement that reflects this public-private partnership framework,” committee members wrote in the news release.

The committee expects to close on the facility in the next several weeks so it can begin to implement steps to reopen and restart operations, according to the release.

Fussell said a board meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday, when more information about projected plans is to be provided. The meeting is set for the Orono Town Hall at 59 Main St., and will be available virtually.

At a meeting June 29, Fussell said the MRC was talking with a number of “good, private sector partners we might work with to help share ownership and operation of the facility.”

She said previously the MRC had indicated it would go to member municipalities to seek financing to open and restart the facility. She said officials were pursing the “private partner angle first, and we’re working on that.”

“We’ve had very successful meetings with some folks that both participated in this most recent sale process,” Fussell said, “and some other folks that did not participate but are showing interest in the facility.”

Central Maine communities that are members of the MRC include: Albion, China, Freedom, Oakland, Palmyra, St. Albans, Thorndike, Troy, Unity and Vassalboro.

Many communities had been sending their waste to the Hampden plant as part of a long-range deal brokered by the MRC, but are sending it elsewhere in the interim.

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