Dover-Foxcroft select board approves Villages Project feasibility study

DOVER-FOXCROFT — The Dover-Foxcroft Select Board accepted the Villages Project Main Street Feasibility Study during a Nov. 17 meeting, which will now move the project forward.

“This isn’t the final plan, this is for them to move forward and get the funding for it,” Select Board Chair Steve Grammont said. There should still be opportunities to incorporate feedback, he added.

Selectperson Tracy Redmond said there are a few study components he is against and has concerns about, and he will be able to bring these up in the future.

“We’re really fortunate to be in the mix,” Selectperson Cindy Freeman Cyr said, saying those who worked on the feasibility study did a great job engaging with the public for input.

At April’s annual town meeting, and then as part of the municipal budget at the June referendum, $200,000 for the Villages Project was approved as part of an $825,000 line item which included another $425,000 for local improvements and $200,000 for bridge improvements. 

The Village Partnership Initiative is a program of the Maine Department of Transportation’s community-based planning program. MDOT will use investments and municipal infrastructure, such as the historic village core and/or downtown, to bring a feel and character that many historic towns had as a means to revitalize rural economy in the state of Maine as well as improve quality of life.

A conceptual design has been completed so the $200,000 will help take Dover-Foxcroft into the design phase, Town Manager Alsina Brenenstuhl said at the April meeting. The project will allow for bicycles, pedestrians and vehicles to all safely share the downtown along East and West Main Streets from Essex Street to about Dunkin, create a distinct look and feel and create a sense of place.

The MDOT Village Projects is intended for rural communities that serve as service centers for the surrounding area. The state funds $10 for every $1 from the town.

To accomplish all the improvements would cost approximately $20 million.

The study area for the Village Project starts at around Dunkin on outer West Main Street and travels east, covering a portion of North Street up to Summer Street, down East Main Street with a portion of Essex Street included, and on South Street to around Pine Street. The purpose is to make conditions safer for all modes of transportation, and create a distinct look and feel and create a sense of place.

Those involved met with Foxcroft Academy representatives to discuss traffic coming and going from the West Main Street campus to see if improvements can be made.

Any improvements made would be done years into the future.

In other business, the select board will hold a public hearing on a proposed code of ethics and code of conduct during the next meeting on Monday, Dec. 15.

“For clarity’s sake we will not be voting on it at the date of the hearing because we need time to incorporate whatever feedback comes from that,” Grammoont said. One of the two January meetings is his guess for when a vote would be held.

Code Enforcement Officer Nan Redmond presented to the board about a complaint received concerning Arrow Tree Service vehicles being parked at the High Street home of owner Scott Desmarais. 

Looking through planning board records, Redmon found that approval was granted in September 2015 for all company vehicles to be parked at the business’ Summer Street location with the exception of the owner’s personal vehicle.

The Summer Street property has been sold, Redmond sent Desmarais a certified letter which he immediately responded to and now he would like to appeal the 2015 decision.

The town attorney told Remond the best handle to handle this is for a brand application to be submitted for High School. “A complete site plan, start from scratch,” she said, saying January would likely be the earliest time for the planning board to take the matter up.

Desmarais has been in business in Dover-Foxcroft for more than two decades, he said, saying he sold the Summer Street lot to CNS Masonry.

“I am in a temporary phase of shifting, all the vehicles aren’t there any more,” Desmarais said. “I have since got rid of three vehicles so I am now down to two vehicles only in my driveway,” driven by him and his son-in-law.

Arrow Tree Service does not conduct business on High Street, Desmarais said, “I put my boots on in the morning, I get in my truck and I go to where the tree is. I remove the tree and I come home.”

Grammont said the select board does not handle land use issues so the planning board is the proper board to go before.

Select board members gave committee reports with Cindy Freeman Cyr saying the finance committee had its first meeting on Oct. 29. Committee members agreed, at a minimum, to meet to hear updates on the town budget.

Going through finances line by line felt good, Selectperson Joel Vail said.

“It’s a good starting point in making sure we are asking the right questions to make sure our money’s going to the right place,” he said, with a process in place to address concerns.

“I don’t want to call us the prep team for budget but it really feels that way,” Vail said, with budget questions answers likely to be found easier through the work of the finance committee

The group is not replacing the budget advisory committee, Freeman Cyr said, but will be a resource for this work done in the new year.

The admin committee met Nov. 6 and Nov. 13 and have been working on a 6-month evaluation of Brenenstuhl which will be coming to the full board for review, Freeman Cyr said. The assistant town manager job description is also being assessed.

The select board’s promotion and development committee met Nov. 12 and heard from Penquis officials, including discussing transportation barriers in the region.

There was public engagement at the meeting, Vail said.

“We love to hear from the community what you think we can do to invest in ourselves and make us a great place to live and bring business and other interests in,” he said.

A new town logo is being worked on and there could be something to review in early 2026, Vail mentioned with the emblem to reflect town history and to be something proud to wear.

Piscataquis Area Community Center Executive Director Manda Stewart told the select board that a number of residents have expressed interest in the organization’s “PACC the Halls Holiday Light Contest”. 

A list of entrants will be released around Dec. 12 so people will then be able to travel around and see the various displays in the competition.

Another mutual golf ball drop fundraiser with the fire department is being planned by the PACC for a Saturday in early May during Healthy Kids Day. 

Entrants can purchase a numbered golf ball which will then be put into a bucket and taken up in the bucket of the ladder truck. Whatever ball drops into the hole or comes the closest wins. More contest details will be forthcoming.