MADAWASKA, Maine – Madawaska officials are looking at adding the town’s Bicentennial Park, an area off Main Street on 11th Avenue where local events like “Music in the Park” are held, to MaineDOT’s Village Partnership Initiative project.
The town’s Select Board on Tuesday night voted to spend $4,500 for conceptual design work of this area. The money would come out of the town’s road reserve account.
The VPI project focuses on making once-in-a-generation improvements to historic downtown and village center areas of communities to improve their walkability, safety and overall appearance.
This would not be the first update for the project. During a public hearing held in Madawaska earlier this year, MaineDOT Regional Planner Jarod Farn-Guillette said the plan had changed to better match the town’s new International Port of Entry facility.
Farn-Guillette said the project’s budget would likely exceed $10 million. The town, however, would only be responsible for 10 percent of the VPI project. The state would cover an additional 10 percent and the federal government would cover the remaining 80 percent.
The project, as last presented to the town, covers 2.8 miles on Route 1 from the Frenchville town line to Gagnon Road. The coverage area also includes 5th, 7th and 19th avenues along with Bridge Avenue, French Street, and Gerard Street.
Part of the board’s motion was to ensure that a special item is included in next year’s annual town meeting to replenish this amount.
Select Board Chair Jason Boucher advocated to have this included in the motion to ensure that the public works department has enough money in its reserve.
Town Manager David Daigle said that, because part of the project’s contract includes a 50 percent reimbursement for architectural renderings, they would also get reimbursed for half of the $4,500.
Boucher said that if taxpayers do not approve of the overall VPI project, then Madawaska would not get reimbursed for half of the $4,500.
“I would hate for it to not happen because of $4,500,” said selectboard member Jenney Dionne of the VPI project.
Boucher asked Finance Director Caryl Albert if the town could add an item to the next annual town meeting to replenish that account. She said they could, and the board voted in favor of taking the $4,500 out of the road reserve account and to look at creating an article to replenish the funds.
Daigle said the project is anticipated to begin during the summer of 2028 or 2029.
The town and MaineDOT are also hosting the next VPI hearing at the Madawaska High School library at 6 p.m. on Dec. 9. Daigle said they will listen to public feedback on the project and also have more answers to questions asked at previous meetings.
