Staff Writer
HOULTON — Memories of Houlton’s past are still strong, but what about a vision for its future?
Members of the town’s planning board and council convened March 4 for a joint discussion on their “view of Houlton in five years’ time.”
“I feel we’re at the threshold of major economic development. People from all over are beginning to look at Houlton and the rest of Aroostook County as a place to build or expand their business,” said Councilor Paul Romanelli. “We’ve got an opportunity to move Houlton ahead in a major way. Let’s take it.”
Framework for the meeting was built around a series of six topics: upcoming population and demographic changes, finding a long-term balance between economic development and quality of life, changes in retail versus industrial development, developments in traffic, roads and safety that should be addressed, ordinance issues that negatively impact the town and the best aspects of Houlton that must be protected.
The population of the area is growing, according to Town Manager Doug Hazlett, and the best way for growth to be positive is to plan for it. Discussions at the meeting were all informal, but the goal was to collect ideas that could be used in developing a future plan of action.
“I want to see Houlton grow, but are we prepared and ready to handle it?,” queried Council Paul Cleary. “Are we doing a bad job in letting people know what we really have here?”
Educating current residents about what their area has to offer is key, said others, as is providing jobs that cover a wide spectrum of vocations.
“A lot of times the people who live here are the ones who don’t really know what’s going on,” said Councilor Nancy Ketch. “But there are so many attractions in the area that we could promote.”
Development on North Street was also part of the discussion. Hazlett said they’ve talked with major landowners in that area about land values and the best use of the land.
“If I have a fear: that’s my biggest — that North Road is going to turn into the next Stillwater Avenue,” he told the group.
Stillwater Avenue in Bangor has seen major growth in the recent past and evolved into a crowded thoroughfare in that city.
Well-thought-out zoning ordinances in the town would help guide development, as well as, protect historic housing stock that is unique to Houlton, agreed other members. And recent development efforts, including the establishment of a tax-increment financing district, should help.
“My personal belief is that when Bangor Street is finished being rebuilt, that whole section of town is ripe for change [as well],” added Hazlett.
The consensus seemed to be: no matter what happens in Houlton, preserving its small-town atmosphere should be a priority.
“When I moved here 25 years ago, it was a nice little city with lots of services,” said planning board member Don Collins. “But we’re also still rural and we’ve got to somehow maintain that, [too].”
Planning board member Betty Childers agreed.
“We certainly could be more than we are,” she said. “I want it to [still] be a nice town that can offer people what they need, but we’ve got to get out and sell it.”
“I think this is just the beginning,” echoed Romanelli. “We’ve got a lot of tools here. We just have to show people what we’ve got. But we want to be the artist to paint the picture; we don’t want someone else painting the picture.”
