PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The Star City is on its way to a newly designed Main Street area with help from the Maine Department of Transportation.
The Presque Isle City Council authorized City Manager Martin Puckett to start the city’s participation in MDOT’s Village Partnership Initiative during a meeting on July 6.
The move greenlights a planning process that will rebuild Main Street, from underground infrastructure to a design tailored specifically for Presque Isle, over roughly five years. The transportation department developed the initiative to help municipalities redesign their downtowns to increase ease of use, walking and bicycling opportunities, aesthetics and safety.
The project would be funded with federal grant money and some portion of local matching funds, DOT representatives said in May.
A working group met in early June to set up a scope and timeline for the project, Puckett said. If funding is approved, construction will start within five years. Phases are expected to include assessment by a consultant, planning by the DOT and municipal officials, as well as public input.
“Presque Isle is one of the large projects we’ve got going,” said Jarod Farn-Guillette, MDOT regional planner, at the July 6 meeting. “In five years, there will be shovels in the ground and backhoes, and you probably won’t get this chance again.”
The aim of the Village Partnership is to create and invest in downtowns that become hubs of their communities, Farn-Guillette said. The DOT is working on a similar project in Sanford.
In addition to rebuilding the structure underneath the street for better longevity, plans will include allowances for utilities, a safe, vehicle-friendly design — not just for cars, but bicycles and even buggies, considering the nearby Amish populations — an attractive design, safety features and more, Farn-Guillette said.
Presque Isle’s last major downtown reconstruction was in 1983.
Farn-Guillette, a Maine School of Mathematics and Science graduate, hopes to have a consultant on board by September and he will be in Presque Isle once a month as the project proceeds, he said.
The project represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Council Chairman Kevin Freeman said.
The partnership just happens to coincide with recently approved facade grants and businesses that are redeveloping spaces on Main Street, Councilor Craig Green said.
“It speaks volumes that they’re investing at the same time the DOT is here,” he said. “We need the planning for this and it’s important that transportation isn’t limited to cars.”
The council authorized Puckett to sign a memorandum of understanding with the DOT to begin the planning stages.
The council also approved a marijuana license renewal for Joe Pelkey and Chase Norton of Star City Wellness. There were no comments during a public hearing before the council meeting.
The city’s annual mill rate is expected to remain flat, Puckett said, but officials need more time to process transactions. Councilors voted unanimously to table the issue for another week and hold a meeting Wednesday, July 13, to set the annual tax commitment.
Councilors voted to give $1,200 from the contingency fund to Gene Cronin of Presque Isle Rec and Parks to continue the summer Movies in the Park program.
In other business, the council approved a Presque Isle Police Department drug forfeiture; learned the Presque Isle Fire Department is recommending a change to a lower-cost billing provider; and approved putting money from a land sale to Aroostook Trusses in the industrial park into the Presque Isle Industrial Council’s building reserves.
The City Council will meet next at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 3.
