Presque Isle Downtown Revitalization Committee

Let’s take a break. The last couple of articles have been filled with lots of great information, but they have been kind of dry. We admit that. Instead, we will bring you up to speed on the Presque Isle Downtown Revitalization Committee’s more current projects.
    Internally, we are working to create a strategic plan with goals for both the upcoming year, as well as the next few years. If you would like input into these goals, please contact us at the information listed at the end of the article. We are also in the process of creating a Web site as a link to the city’s Web site, and will continue to talk with business owners regarding bringing new and existing businesses to our downtown.
We have a plan in place for the flower barrels, benches and trashcans for Main Street. We have volunteers who will put out the barrels before Memorial Day and pick them up the end of summer. Experts from the Presque Isle Garden Club are going to choose the flowers and plant them in the barrels. Other volunteers will care for them over the summer making sure that they are weeded and watered. The City of Presque Isle will be putting the benches and trashcans out about the same time. A Spring Clean-up Program for this spring is being planned and we hope to encourage downtown building and business owners to clean up and possibly decorate their facades to bring warmth and vitality to Main Street.
With summer not yet begun, we are in the process of purchasing holiday lights for next winter and are working with the City of Presque Isle to prepare the poles for the lights. The holiday lights will be ordered before the end of March. The committee counted a lot of poles that would hold lights (or banners which may be added at a later date). We must be limited to the amount of lights we order this first year to be able to stay within our budget for them. Therefore, the decision was made that lights would begin in the center of downtown spaced at intervals from University Street to North Street. Enormous effort is being made to increase the holiday lights’ budget so that we will be able to add more blocks next year. In the meantime, the committee requests your patience and understanding as we work on this project; and know that if lights are not over your business this year, every effort is being made on our part to do so as soon as possible.
So there you have it, folks. These are just some of the things we have in the works. Again, if you have any thoughts and comments, please contact us.
You can get more information or sign up to join us by calling Sandy Gauvin (764-0876), Cathy Beaulieu at Wilder’s Jewelry Store (764-0309), or Patty LeBlanc (769-7731). We meet at the Presque Isle Area Chamber of Commerce on the Houlton Road at 7:30 a.m. on the first and third Thursdays of each month.
Please write us with your thoughts and opinions. It’s your city and we need your input. You can write us at: The Presque Isle Downtown Revitalization Committee, 411 Main St., Presque Isle, Maine 04769, or you can e-mail us at pidrc@yahoo.com.
The Presque Isle Downtown Revitalization Committee is an ad hoc committee of the Presque Isle City Council