HOULTON, Maine — After several years of proposals, planning and fundraising, construction on new bathroom facilities in Riverfront Park will begin next summer, town officials confirmed Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016.
The news from Nancy Ketch, Houlton’s community and economic development director, came following a town council meeting last Monday evening during which the panel approved a joint request from Ketch and the Riverfront Committee to apply for a $158,000 federal grant from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The grant, which requires a $79,000 match that will be provided by the Riverfront Committee, would be used to build the restrooms and make a number of improvements in both Riverfront Park and Community Park. The town is involved in the grant application because it will be providing in-kind services and the restrooms will be built on town property.
In October 2015, a divided council rejected by a 3-2 vote construction of the restrooms because the town did not want to be responsible for maintenance costs even if private funds built them. The council reversed that decision in February after F.A. Peabody, a business owned by Bob Anderson, the chairman of the Riverfront Committee, agreed to provide cleaning services for the restrooms through Nov. 1, 2017, at a cost of $3,000 annually. The restrooms would only be open from May through November.
Currently, the town pays $187 per month to have a portable toilet in the park. A contractor for the project has not been chosen.
Three weeks ago, the council turned down a request to apply for $110,000 in grant funding. Three out of the four councilors present at the time (Brent Dickison, Jane Torres and Sue Waite-York) voted in favor of applying for the grant, but because the town’s charter stipulates that four votes are needed for a motion to pass, the measure died.
Ketch said that it actually “turned out to be a good thing” that the council rejected the request, because the Riverfront Committee came forward with a larger cash donation, enabling them to apply for more money from the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
The restrooms will be built on town property in Riverfront Park. The structure with facilities for men and women will have plumbing and electricity and committee members have discussed the possibility of getting time locks installed on the doors of the bathrooms in an attempt to lower maintenance costs.
If approved, the grant also would allow the town to pave an expanded area for parking, install new LED lights along the walking path and across the Gateway Crossing bridge, and paint the railings on the bridge.
At Community Park, funding would be used to purchase a new canopy for the Just For Kids playground, which would help provide a shaded area at the site that was lost when trees were removed for the installation of new playground equipment. Additionally, the tennis courts at the park would be resurfaced.
Ketch said Thursday that even if the grant is not approved, construction of the bathrooms would still move forward. If they don’t receive it, they would simply just cut the other projects out.
