PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The Presque Isle City council approved a request for a medical marijuana license for a seventh retailer at a November meeting held at the Sargent Community Center.
The request was from Jonathan Martin, who seeks to open up a new medical Marijuana store on 28 Houlton Road in Presque Isle. Martin’s will become the seventh marijuana store located in Presque Isle, and will be the fifth store operating in a medical capacity.
The council then talked about the road closures for the annual holiday light parade in December. The road will be closed for an extra 30-45 minutes in order to have a fun run from UMPI to Hub Coffee. After the run, the parade is set to take place as scheduled.
Both City Hall and the Forum have been undergoing renovations, and received updates. “The second floor of City hall is pretty much gutted,” City Manager Matin Puckett said. “While the relocation has been difficult, everyone in City Hall is excited for how the end result will look, with the first floor already being a great example.” There is still no firm date for completion.
The Forum has had propane heating tanks installed, with Recreation and Parks Director Gene Cronin reporting that renovations are already about 40-45 percent complete, with 60-90 days of more work needed. Construction has been split into four sections — the front of the building, the arena, the shops and locker areas and the boiler room.
The council also discussed the removal of a dangerous building in town at 36 Elm St., which is a condemned property. At a meeting in July, the City Council had an agreement in which the homeowners would demolish the structure on the property in 120 days. Since then, work has not been completed to meet those demands. If the structure is not demolished by Nov. 8, the city will have to intervene, and take on bids for demolition.
The council was then presented with the city of Presque Isle’s comprehensive plan, which is meant to map out the future of the city for the next 10 years. A public forum on the plan will be scheduled for the next council meeting on Dec. 1.
Finally, the council heard multiple annual reports and funding requests from organizations in the city, such as the Chamber of Commerce, the Aroostook Agency on Aging and the Presque Isle Snowmobile Club, which all had positive reports despite COVID-19 challenges, and good projections for 2022.
The council then entered executive session, and shortly thereafter, adjourned. The meeting was streamed online, and can be found on YouTube.
