Greenville secures $11K grant to revive lakeside park

GREENVILLE — The Town of Greenville has been awarded an $11,110 grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation for improvements to the park at the end of Preo Street on the east cove of Moosehead Lake.

The grant application was made through the Northern Forest Center in a team effort, Town Manager Mike Roy said during a May 20 Select Board meeting. 

The center applied for funding from the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based foundation for an outdoor investment project. The Preo Street park improvements will directly advance the strategic goal of improving recreational access close to town, Roy said.

Residents and visitors will be able to enjoy access to the lake and sunset views without needing to leave the community. The neighborhood and town’s overall destination appeal would be enhanced.

“It’s a great opportunity for us, so thank you Northern Forest Center and RK Mellon Foundation,” Roy said.

The parking lot would be improved with shale. Picnic tables will be placed at the park.

“We’re going to trim some trees,” the town manager said. “We’re going to add a floating dock for carry in, carry out only boating access, kayaks, canoes, those types of things. Just improve that area basically.”

“I hear years ago that was the place to go (for swimming), so we’re trying to revive that,” Roy said. “It’s kind of a hidden gem.”

A $4.5 million congressionally directed spending grant for the Greenville Municipal Airport is being sought with U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. The funds would support hangar development, such as allowing for more taxiways to be constructed. 

The grant application has been moved up to the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee for a potential vote in June or July, Roy was told by Collins’ office.

In other business, the select board signed the annual town meeting warrant. The meeting will start at 6 p.m. on Monday, June 1, in the Louis Oakes Auditorium at the Greenville Consolidated School.

The warrant contains 50 articles, including about 20 on the school budget. Should the need arise, the meeting will be paused and reconvened the next evening at 6 p.m.

Updates were given on several ongoing projects.

“The Spruce Street infrastructure work is progressing nicely,” Roy said. “The new waterline will be crossing Spruce Street tomorrow.”

“It’s looking like a street,” he said.

The $1.2 million infrastructure project is being funded in part by a $991,000 grant the town secured two years ago from the Northern Border Regional Commission. The Northern Forest Center helped the town secure the commission grant and is providing the matching funds needed to complete the project. 

Infrastructure expansion includes extension of public water and sewer service and development of a new public road onto the proposed development site on Spruce Street. The town is contracting with Maine-based Sargent Corporation to complete the project by the end of the summer.

The Northern Forest Center is constructing a 28-unit housing development to address local housing challenges. The $12.5 million planned housing development will feature a mix of single family homes and duplexes, ranging from one to three bedrooms, in a clustered neighborhood designed to encourage community connections among residents.

Weekly committee meetings are held to work on the YES (Youth, Education and Sports) Building to house pre-kindergarten and childcare facilities and a community center in a structure on the Pritham Avenue school campus.

“We have nailed down the floor plan,” Roy said.

The building size and location on campus are set and the committee is working with the contractor to come up with a finalized budget number in the $3 million range.

The Friends of the Mountain are working on the “Ski the View, Save the Mountain” campaign to save the recreational area at Big Moose Mountain. The local nonprofit is working to purchase the 1,700-acre Big Moose Mountain property. 

“We continue to make great progress on it,” board member Margarita Contreni said. “We will announce a major gift, not now but publicly a bit later in the summer.” 

This will hopefully be made when a purchase sale agreement is signed, she said.

“So we wanted to assure you that it continues along at great speed, we are very pleased with the progress,” Contreni said. The campaign could be complete by the end of the year.

Friends of the Mountain and Moosehead Lake Region Economic Development Corporation launched “Ski the View, Save the Mountain” in 2025 to provide a permanent nonprofit ski area for the Moosehead Lake region and a year-round outdoor recreational asset to revitalize the area’s economy. The campaign would enable the purchase of the ski resort and an adjacent 500 acres for projects that help sustain the area.

The property 5 miles north of Greenville in Big Moose Township is owned by James Confalone, with the 1,700 acres listed with Folsom Realty Group for $5.95 million.

Phase I is a $5.95 million goal and Phase II seeks more than $13 million in additional funds through 2030 for more improvements to the site in a $19.65 million project.

The $13.75 million would open the upper mountain; provide for new ski lifts, snowmaking equipment and infrastructure upgrades; renovate the upper mountain lodge; develop housing options; and secure private development for hotel renovation.

A reopening ceremony for the revitalized Red Cross Beach is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 20.