Residents are looking to improve the area around Railroad Park.
LEWISTON – Real Fournier is an older man who wears a patch over one eye. When he takes a walk through the park near his home, he often doesn’t see the messes dogs leave behind. Not until it’s too late, anyway.

In fact, dogs were among the leading complaints Wednesday night as a group of Railroad Park residents got together to discuss neighborhood issues.

Trash in the streets, cars racing by, parking problems and ugly, vacant buildings were other matters the group of 30 began to tackle on their first night as a group.

The kind of brainstorming that went on at the Pastime Club Wednesday night was exactly what the police wanted to see. As a group, neighbors can get a lot more done to improve the quality of life in their section of the city, according to Lt. Don Mailhot.

“The squeaky wheel, as you’ve probably heard, gets the grease,” Mailhot said. “I’ll tell you that over and over again. You will become a strong group and you will be able to make things happen.”

The Railroad Park Community group is comprised of people who live in the areas of River, Oxford, Lincoln, Cedar and Locust streets. They are older folks, mostly. Many of them have lived in what was once known as “Little Canada” for decades.

“I’ve been in this neighborhood for 53 years,” said Pastime Club owner Don G. Mailhot. In spite of an identical name, he is not related to the officer. “Basically, all the people here tonight, they have been here all their lives. Everybody knows everybody.”

The residents of Railroad Park have seen many changes over recent years. More young people have been moving in and out. There is drug dealing here and there, and the occasional violent crime.

But most of the complaints aired on Wednesday were the same, smaller complaints most people have with their neighborhoods. Loud stereos, littering, bad roads and people who park their vehicles in inappropriate spots.
Power in numbers’
The officers who ran the meeting were very frank: Police cannot always be counted on to fix every problem a resident has. Sometimes, day-to-day nuisances are better handled by a group of neighbors, who can look up landlords, contact their city councilor or direct their complaints to the proper officials.

“You will work as a group to change those things you don’t like,” said police Sgt. Adam Higgins. “There is power in numbers. This is going to help you folks, it’s going to help us and it’s going to help the community as a whole.”

City Councilor Mark Paradis, who represents the area, was invited to the meeting Wednesday night. However, the invitation was issued only days ago and the councilor had a prior commitment.

At the start of the meeting, police Officer Ryan Rawstron and Cpl. Kevin Cramp had the group write their three top complaints on pieces of paper. As expected, most members had similar gripes.

Several people complained about buildings that have been empty and unsightly for a long time. The buildings are not only unappealing to look at, they might be dangerous.

Kids smash out windows and run away, one woman said.

Mailhot had an answer. Instead of one person calling to complain to police, maybe several members of the group should find out who owns the building. After that, and through contact with city leaders, maybe a resolution can be found. The group can address the city with a collective voice.

“The squeaky wheel,” Lt. Mailhot repeated. “It gets the grease. I can’t say it enough.”

The other Don Mailhot, owner of the Pastime, said he was happy with the progress made at the group’s first meeting. But he wants more people there next time. He wants members of the community to bring friends.

“This will help us,” he said. “This is something we needed to do.”

The group expects to meet every month or so to bring up problems and discuss strategies to fix them. At some point, the police will no longer be needed. The residents of Railroad Park will have learned how to tackle small, neighborhood problems on their own.

“The idea behind a community action group is to address these issues as a group,” Lt. Mailhot said. “At some point, we’ll pull out. But you will continue working together to solve your problems.”
[email protected]