Community Center Project update

    As of late, you may have noticed there has not been much talk of the community center project. It has been nearly a year since I last wrote about the project and thought it was well over due to share what I know.     A great deal of time, energy and money has been invested so far into this project. Let me give you a quick rundown of what has been accomplished so far. The site has been selected and the majority of the 8-acre property has been obtained by the city. For those who don’t know where the site is, it is where the former Beaulieu’s Hardware store used to be on the corner of Chapman Street and where the former potato house was along the railroad tracks. Last year, the potato house was removed and the old Beaulieu’s Hardware store was taken down last week. Through a couple different programs and a great deal of help from the Department of Environmental Protection agency’s local and state offices, the site has been assessed for environmental pollutants and will be cleaned up this fall.
    The initial conceptual plans of the building and layout have been completed and may be viewed on the Recreation & Parks Department Web site at www.pirec.org, under “Facilities & Parks”. You will see a large gymnasium with ample room for events and spectators. There will be a senior center with a full-sized kitchen. A teen center will be part of the new facility as well as a walking track and rooms for the arts and multi-purpose programming. The facility will offer community members a fun and safe place to go and enjoy various activities with family and friends and offer opportunities to meet new friends.
    As far as what is happening now … ever heard of the “trickle down effect”? One simple meaning of the phrase may be, when changes at the top affect those at the bottom. Unfortunately, the current status of the community center project is a result of the “trickle down effect”. It all comes down to dollars. Now, I may be a little out of my realm or even a lot out of it, but let me try to explain (in my layman’s terms) how the community center project is affected by the “trickle down effect”.
    Many people regard property taxes as the main source of funding that runs the city and its departments. However, over half of the money for the typical municipal budget comes from other areas like state revenue sharing, excise tax and permit fees.
    Each year, about 5 percent of the state’s income and sales tax revenues are used to make up the state revenue sharing. From there, each municipality receives a portion of that 5 percent. The portion each municipality then receives is determined through a formula that includes the communities’ population, valuation and tax commitment. For the municipality of Presque Isle, that equates to over $1.8 million received through the state revenue sharing program last year, making up nearly 14 percent of the city’s total budget.
    This is where the “trickle down effect” comes into play. As the State struggles with its budget as a result of its decreased revenues, they end up passing less money (32 percent less this year) on to the municipalities through revenue sharing. Which in turn results in the city having less funds to fix roads, fight fires, catch bad guys and complete projects like the community center.
    As with every household budget, the objective is to make sure spending doesn’t exceed income. The city is no different, as the charter requires we have a balanced budget at the end of each year. Due to this year’s drastic 32 percent drop in revenue sharing, the city has had to go back into the current budget within the past three months and cut $632,000 in order to maintain that necessary balance.
    When times are tough like this, the state, the city and everyday people like you and I have a lot of tough decisions to make. Being fiscally responsible is one of the guiding factors in those decisions. Choosing to go out and purchase that new vehicle instead of fixing the leak in your roof probably wouldn’t be the wisest of choices. Or taking that trip to the Caribbean when you can barely cover your current mortgage payment.
    As I mentioned before, it all comes down to dollars. Although difficult economic times have placed the community center in more of a holding mode, the project is certainly not a dead one, just taking a brief siesta. The continually hard working members of the Community Center Committee, City Councilors as well as a great deal of members of this community and I are still very excited about this project. When the economy finally does improve, so too will the life of this project.
    For questions or comments about this effort and or other programs through the Presque Isle Recreation and Parks Department please contact us or you may also check out our Web site at www.pirec.org.
    Chris Beaulieu is director of recreation and parks for the city of Presque Isle. He can be reached at at 764-2545 or via e-mail at chrispirec@maine.rr.com.