When he drives around Presque Isle, City Manager Tyler Brown sees challenges: fallen-down properties at a mobile home park, a crumbling wall on a historic building at the city center, a recycling depot filled with trash.
But he also sees assets: attractive parks, a growing industrial area and a bustling downtown.
Presque Isle has seen considerable growth in recent years, from Main Street businesses and renovation at the Northeastland Hotel, to redevelopment at the Aroostook Centre Mall and national industry like F.W. Webb moving in. Local leaders are working with the Maine Department of Transportation to redesign the downtown to attract more people and businesses to the city’s heart.
Brown wants to build on that economic boom while creating a more welcoming community, he said.
“I have had people say to me, ‘We used to be Mayberry,’” Brown said, referring to the idyllic town in the Andy Griffith TV show of the 1960s. “A golden era has started here. We just need to put a little bit more charge into it and help people see it.”
With a population of just under 9,000, Presque Isle is much smaller than the cities Brown is used to — Seattle, Chicago, Atlanta and New York. But he grew up in Ludlow, Vermont, a town of less than 900 people.
He came to Aroostook County after leaving a 20-year career at Delta Airlines, advancing from baggage handler to operations management and living in large hubs across the country.
He and his wife, Kristine, were ready for a change. They wanted to settle somewhere more peaceful and concentrate on being a family with kids Eli, 14, and Maggie, 13.
The day he chose to leave Delta was the day he found the online advertisement for the city manager’s job in Presque Isle, he said.
Brown came on board in February. There was a brief glitch when he resigned in March, but it was short-lived. He and the Presque Isle City Council resolved unspecified differences.
He declined to say why he resigned, but said after reflection and hearing from many people who urged him to stay, he realized Presque Isle was where he wanted to be.
“The outpouring of support from our community and the council is why I came back,” he said. “People believed in me.”
Housing is Presque Isle’s No. 1 problem, and it’s a vicious circle, he said. Without affordable housing, people won’t move in. If people don’t move in, there won’t be enough workers for growing industry. And without workers, companies will flee.
He favors being proactive. For instance, if the city were to build out water and sewer for potential housing, that could draw developers. It’s much like when the Presque Isle Industrial Council builds a spec building to attract new businesses.
City leaders are already starting to explore unused areas for future housing. And construction is underway on an 18-unit apartment project between Elm and North streets.
Recycling needs to change as well, Brown said. Igloos are located at Riverside Drive and behind City Hall for people to deposit recyclable materials, but they can’t handle the need.
“Unfortunately, the volume that goes in is too great, and the ability to empty them is very challenging,” he said.
Aroostook Waste Solutions has one truck that can load and empty the igloos. Right now, it’s broken, which means the igloos remain full.
Reopening the former transfer station on the Griffin Ridge Road may be a short-term solution, he said. The facility would be a drop-off point for recyclables only and would be unstaffed. The city owns the site, but it’s in Mapleton, so officials are discussing the option with Mapleton leaders.
Then there’s that crumbling wall. The historic R.W. Wight Furniture building on State Street still shows signs of the old painted company name amid large spots of deterioration. It begs for a community beautification project, Brown said.
Coming from an airline background, he’s excited about the Presque Isle International Airport’s new terminal project and, like others, waiting with bated breath to see which airline carrier the U.S. Department of Transportation will appoint.
The Presque Isle City Council favored JetBlue, while the Airport Advisory Board deemed United Airlines — the current carrier — the best choice. Brown didn’t state a preference, because it’s the DOT’s choice in the end, he said.
Presque Isle’s biggest assets are its people, which include a talented and hardworking city staff, he said. He hopes to unite people and listen to what they want Presque Isle to be.
To create a map forward, he, city staff and councilors, with public input, have formulated a “star chart.” It lists five pillars important to Presque Isle: county, community, team, tourism and development. Goals surround each pillar, like mill rate reduction, bringing new events to The Forum and continuing the successful community cleanup day that happened in April.
He admitted he doesn’t have all the answers; he’s just a guy who wants to help his new home be all it can be.
“We have the opportunity to build Mayberry 2.0,” he said. “We can take the foundation of what we’ve built, bridge all the generational gaps and build it together.”
