What have we done? And what are we going to do?

Still a fledgling organization, the Presque Isle Downtown Revitalization Committee has been alive for a little over a year now. We have been very busy doing things for our downtown that are both visible and subtle.
    One of the most noticeable accomplishments of our committee is the planting and placement of the flower buckets on Main Street. They will be out again soon to add their vibrant summer beauty to our downtown, and will be watered during the summer by students from Presque Isle High School. The benches, which have been newly painted, will also be out again. And the trash receptacles will be placed on watch to make sure the sidewalks are kept clean and attractive. Speaking of clean, the highway department has done a great job of giving Main Street a nice bath after a long winter’s worth of grime. We would like to thank the City of Presque Isle for all its help.
Another large project that has been undertaken by the downtown committee is the purchase of several holiday lights to brighten our winter on Main Street. Not only have we purchased the lights; we’ve worked hard to make sure they will be well taken care of year round. The Presque Isle Volunteer Fire Department has offered to put the lights up and take them down with the use of a bucket truck that Maine Public Service is kindly allowing them to use. The PIVFD will also maintain the lights during the off-season. Larry Clark, executive director of the Presque Isle Industrial Council, is helping us find a cool, dry place to store the lights. And, hopefully, over the coming years, we will be able to add more holiday lights.
Education has been another large part of our activity. Last October, three members of the committee attended the sixth annual Maine Downtown Conference in Waterville. We learned a lot from communities that have been through this process and came back with many great ideas and renewed enthusiasm. Conversely, we have provided educational opportunities for community leaders to learn more about Main Streets. Last summer, we hosted an Eggs and Issues breakfast at UMPI. Linda Matychowiak, Gardiner’s downtown manager, spoke to attendees about the importance of revitalizing our downtown. As a result of collaboration between the PIDRC and Maine Public Service, Mac Hollady spoke last fall about “The Changing World of Economic Development” and how it pertains to our Main Street. Our efforts have brought community leaders, downtown businesses and civic groups together with a common goal of improving Main Street, and thus the entire community. We currently have another excellent educational event in the early planning stage. Keep your eyes and ears open.
We have been working closely with the city government and the Presque Isle Industrial Council regarding the purchase and renovation of the Braden Theater. We have offered to assist in that project in any way we can. And we plan to continue to keep the focus on reopening a movie theater in the downtown.
As we have grown in our mission, we have recently created and adopted a strategic plan to chart our direction for the near future. Our three major goals under this plan are to make downtown Presque Isle more aesthetically pleasing, increase the social and economic vitality of Main Street, and maintain the energy and continuity for downtown revitalization. And we have identified several objectives to help us achieve each of these goals.
During the past year, we have tried to keep the public informed about different aspects of downtown revitalization and apprise them of what is going on with our efforts. We have participated in several radio and television interviews, and weekly articles have been published in The Star-Herald. In doing so, we have raised the awareness of the importance of a vibrant Main Street.
There are many thanks to be given for all that we have been able to accomplish during the past year. We would like to thank the Presque Isle Chamber of Commerce for taking us under their wing initially, and the Presque Isle City Council for making us an ad hoc committee under them. We also need to thank them for the funding they have provided for us this year. We appreciate the commitment we have received from the Presque Isle Volunteer Fire Department, Maine Public Service, Tom Stevens and Ken Arndt from the City of Presque Isle, The Star-Herald, WAGM television and the local radio stations, Maine Mutual Group, Carroll’s Auto Sales, Stantec, Presque Isle High School and Aaron Buzza, and the Northern Maine Development Commission. Without the help of these individuals and organizations, the task of the PIDRC would be much more difficult.
Above all, we owe a tremendous amount of thanks to the enthusiastic volunteers who have devoted so much time and energy to the creation and continuation of the PIDRC. They are an active, visionary group of people who are working hard to bring new life and vitality to our downtown. They have generously devoted their own time, efforts, and money to the betterment of our community and plan to continue to do so in the future.
We would like to call on those of you in the community who might be interested in making some positive changes in downtown Presque Isle to join us. We have scheduled projects that have both short-term and long-term time frames for the future. Your active participation is necessary in order to achieve successful outcomes of these projects. In June, we will be voting on our officers for the 2007-2008 year, and your collective support will help tremendously to get these and other plans off to great starts and exciting conclusions. Won’t you please commit yourself to one of our sub-committees or attend the full committee meetings and help us revitalize, re-energize downtown Presque Isle?
You can get more information about the PIDRC or join us by calling Sandy Gauvin (764-0876), Cathy Beaulieu at Wilder’s Jewelry Store (764-0309), or Patty LeBlanc (769-7731), or you can contact us through the information listed below. 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. We invite you to join in our efforts to help our wonderful city.
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