PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The Presque Isle City Council approved $100,000 for the Home Owners Assistance Program, awarded $109,000 to the Bishop’s Island Baseball Field, and discussed a new formula for landfill usage during their Aug. 3 meeting.
The objective of the Home Owners Assistance program is to stimulate more activity in the Presque Isle home buyers’ market. This program assists buyers with up to 50 percent of their down payment. Those buying existing homes may receive a maximum of $5,000 and those building new homes may get a maximum amount of $7,500 in cases of larger down payments.
Jim Bennett, city manager, stressed that living in Presque Isle is less expensive on average than living in a small neighboring community when taking travel expenses into consideration. “I used Mapleton as an example,” Bennett said. “In the last five years, our full value tax rate has dropped by $2.50 on average compared to other communities in the state. Our tax rates have stabilized over the years while the cost to operate a vehicle has gone up.
“So what’s interesting is if we took a $175,000 home, you have about a $1,866 difference in the tax bill. If you assumed a 50-cents-per-mile cost to run a vehicle and ran it back and forth from Mapleton, and if you drive more than 51 miles, it really costs you more money to live there than if you lived here.”
The City Council also awarded $109,000 to Chris Beaulieu, director of Recreation and Parks in Presque Isle, to assist in replacing the baseball field at Bishop’s Island. Previously, Beaulieu planned to utilize the $124,000 from the sale of the old field on Main Street for the new field; however, the cost exceeded this amount. According to a quote from Bridgham Engineering, to build a field with similar features and size, the Recreation and Parks Department will need a total of $285,000.
The department decided that the groundwork is a higher priority than amenities such as dugouts, lighting, and fencing. Trombley Industries had the lowest bid for groundwork at $109,000. Beaulieu plans to get started right away.
Council then discussed funding for the Riverside Public Market structure. This structure will be close to the newly proposed Community Center and outdoor swimming pool. The city recently received $75,000 from the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation and $5,000 from Farm Credit East to help fund the project.
Ken Arndt, Planning and Development director, received an estimate of $165,000-$185,000 to complete the building in the newly built CDBG parking lot west of the railroad tracks. The Council agreed the facility could benefit the city, but felt the estimate was too high after looking at a poster of the proposed building.
“Could the engineers give us a minimum spec,” asked Councilor Craig Green, “so that you could then go tell contractors, at a minimum, what they need to accomplish for you? You could show them what you would like to have as a finished result and ask how to get a great facility built for a lower cost.”
“We should move ahead and search for a way to build this for a price under $185,000,” said Bennett. “We should explore other design options and give Ken a chance to see what it will look like beforehand so it is still a quality building that does not cheapen the downtown experience.”
Martin Puckett, deputy city manager, discussed the creation of a new city human resources position. When Puckett becomes city manager Aug. 17, there will be a vacancy in the human resource department, as Puckett performed those duties. The council agreed the vacancy should be filled and voted to create and advertise for the position.
Also up for discussion was the formula Presque Isle uses to charge other communities for waste disposal. Bennett suggested adjusting the formula by establishing the debt service rate as a fixed payment, to establish the operating subsidy based on a historical average, and to establish that any shortfall in a given year will be made up only by those communities that have not met the expected tonnages based on that historical trend. Council members approved that plan.
In other business, the council voted to use $17,266.84 from the contingency fund to pay for repairs to the Fire Department’s Ladder One, as requested by Fire Chief Darrel White, and also approved a permit for music, dancing and entertainment as well as a license for malt, spirituous, and vinous liquor for BLD Hospitality at the Hampton Inn.
Closing out his last meeting as city manager, Bennett told the council, “I’m proud of what we were able to accomplish with this staff. We went into one of the most difficult financial challenges that this community has ever seen and probably one of the worst ones that any community has faced in the last 30 years. We did it so well that people couldn’t figure out how we accomplished what we did.
“I had the opportunity to meet with the elected officials over the last couple years, and one of the things I shared privately with Martin is that you, collectively, have a better sense about what your role is, how municipalities work, and you all work together in a way that, I believe, is head and shoulders above a lot of elected officials in the state. You work hard, you’ve done a great job, and you take the people’s concerns seriously.
“I will miss being in Presque Isle. It’s a great community,” he concluded.
