Milo continues to look at potential Village Partnership Initiative

MILO — Several months ago Milo officials learned about an opportunity to work with the Maine Department of Transportation on a Village Partnership Initiative to develop a vision for the downtown — any binding obligation would be made in the months to come. A working group is learning more with members representing the town government, police and fire departments, public works, and school and water districts.

During a Sept. 11 Milo Select Board meeting, Town Manager Bob Canney said the group met with an MDOT planner to discuss a “wish list” of desired improvements in the Village Partnership Initiative. Canney said the list will now go to a designer to draft plans and these will be brought back to a public hearing to see what can be done.

Milo is under no obligation to have anything carried out, as the plan can remain with the town indefinitely. Improvements include making sidewalks ADA compliant, decorative light bulbs, benches, and crosswalks.

“Just to be clear this is grant money, this is not coming out of our budget,” Select Chair Paula Copeland said. “We will have to have a small amount but it depends on what on our wish list they say is feasible and possible. There’s no numbers right now.”

Grant funds — which would have a municipal match requirement — would come from either the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for those $5 million and up and from Congressionally Directed Spending if under $5 million. 

Canney said the town has at least $29,000 remaining in ARPA monies, which need to be allocated by the end of October. With a little bit left over from other projects the actual number is probably closer to $31,000.

Board member Lee McMannus said some street and sidewalk improvements likely need to be done anyway, and the Village Partnership Initiative is a way to take advantage of grant money.“This is one of those rare times you spend a little and you actually save in the long run,” he said.

Canney said street work could be tied into Milo Water District projects to save residents additional money.

“This doesn’t commit us to anything at this point other than our remaining share of the ARPA money,” he said. The town manager said planning takes about a year and ARPA funds do not need to be spent until 2026 once the monies are allocated.

The board opted to wait until the October meeting to take a formal vote on allocation.

The Village Partnership Initiative is a program of the MDOT’s community-based planning program. MDOT Region 4-5 Transportation Planner Jarod Farn-Guillette.reached out to Canney earlier in the year after passing through town while working on a similar endeavor in Dover-Foxcroft.

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 of those who live in the community and for visitors.

The MDOT would work with Milo on a feasibility study and conceptual design. The agency would also work with the town on request for proposals to find a consultant who would then work with landscape and traffic engineers to look at efficiency of infrastructure and how it looks to complement the character of the town.

In other business, Canney gave an update on the  public safety building 

“I just checked with our engineers this afternoon because I know everyone wants to know how that’s going so Plymouth Engineers said they are roughly 85 to  90 percent complete,” he said. “They are working on electrical and mechanical things internally in the building.”

The town manager said all plans need to go to USDA for review. Per the latest timeline the plans would be gone over next month and the project would hopefully go out to bid in November. The select board would then plan to open bids in December.

“It may delay us not breaking ground until the summertime,’ Canney said.

When asked he said, “To date we have spent no money on this project.” Canney said it is all grant funded, including the estimated $58,000 expended so far by Plymouth Engineers.

The town is currently in the planning stages of a new building to house the fire, police, and public works departments. The community can spend up to $6,375,000 in USDA funds for the public safety building, which will be located at the business park and across the road from the Milo Water District office less than a mile up Park Street from the 100-year-old town hall where the fire and police departments are currently located.

Plymouth Engineering had been meeting with town officials and department heads to design each department’s section of the facility, with plans being solidified. The engineering firm estimates the building, groundwork, and engineering costs to total $7,200,758 or $825,758 more than what Milo has available in project funding. To make up the difference, residents approved a line of credit not to exceed $825,758 to cover costs above and beyond the $6,375,000 at a special town meeting 

The construction would be an 18-month build.

“An update on our ladder truck search, we’ve got two that we are looking at at this time,” Fire Chief Matt Demers said. “One’s in New York and one’s in Alabama.”

Demers said Deputy Chief Mike Harris would be in New York that week to look at the ladder truck and a couple of firefighters will be traveling to Alabama. 

The fire department is looking to replace a 42-year-old ladder truck. The vehicle is needed not just for height but if a house sits back off the road as well to fight fires on structures with metal roofs.

Demers said an open house is planned for Sunday, Oct. 13 to tie in with Fire Prevention Week as members of the fire department would be visiting local classrooms.

Code Enforcement Officer Steven Quist said notices were sent out last month to properties in need of cleanup. He said many recipients have not yet responded and some property owners have rectified their situations. 

“The problem is it’s only a dent in cleaning up,” Quist said. He said property owners not in compliance can be fined, but then there are court costs for the town in order to collect.

“We’re asking for the public to understand it’s going to take time, the only way to enforce compliance is through the court system and the court system is very, very time consuming,” Canney said.

“The incentive is if you say you are going to clean it up, we will give you the amount of time that you need and no fines and no court fees,” he added.

“We’re asking for residents to understand we are working on it, and we are trying to be careful about it,” the town manager said. “We are trying to pick the houses that are most visible on our access in and out of town first, try to get those in compliance, and then try to work our way to the streets that aren’t as visible.”

Property owners are typically given six months to comply, but extensions can be given if there is visible progress and/or they communicate with the town.

“The people that complain about their neighbors need to understand what we’re up against as far as the costs and everything else but it won’t stop the complaints,” Police Chief Nick Clukey said. He said property complaints come in nearly every day but there is not much the police department can do other than have a conversation with the caller.

Arthur Wilkins said the economic development committee is “working toward the future of the town and I think a lot of us agree the future is in outdoor recreation.”  He said the group is looking at a park and ride to get ATV riders and snowmobilers into town, possibly at the site of the old dump.

He said the economic development committee meets at 6:30 p.m. the last Thursday of the month and the group is looking for volunteers.

The group is working to develop the town right of way on the Ferry Road about 50 feet to the Piscataquis River into a green space and potentially a boat launch.

Wilkins said the next steps are to get town approval and then water district approval for its land at the site.

 “It’s going to be a matter of putting in some parking spots and then when that’s done getting some grant funding to make some improvements down there,” he said.

The right of way is used as a turnaround for both snow plows and garbage trucks and would become seasonal parking with a natural launch (as opposed to a ramp) located nearby. Plans have a gate being installed to prevent vehicle access to the waterway. A gate would have an opening to allow a canoe or kayak to be portaged to the river.