I am writing to applaud the Lewiston City Council for their its in authorizing $1.5 million for improvements to the Colisee. There were dozens of reasons to support the request, but in order to make an informed decision, city officials needed firsthand information. It should be comforting to the residents of Lewiston that your city officials had firsthand knowledge of the many issues involved before the requests for improvements were made.

Since the city of Lewiston took over operations of the Colisee, employees such as Jim Bennett, Phil Nadeau and Greg Mitchell have worked tirelessly to make this undertaking a success. City Council member Renee Bernier has given countless hours of her time to the Maineiacs’ organization in order to make the players’ first year living arrangements successful. Mayor Lionel Guay, who has always been dedicated to making Lewiston a better place to live, was one of the Maineiacs’ most loyal fans.

The city administrators and many of the elected city representatives should be commended. They had practical, firsthand, factual information, which should leave the residents of Lewiston confident the proper decision was made.

J. Paul Spellman, Auburn