RUMFORD – It may be much easier for people to find their way downtown this spring.
Selectmen on Thursday approved seeking bids to buy three cedar, oval-shaped 4-by-8-foot signs for the town’s three main entrances. Another eight 18-by-24-inch aluminum signs will point travelers to the Congress Street and Waldo Street business districts.
Each of these sign styles will feature the historic Municipal Building cupola. The main-entrance signs will identify Rumford as Rumford Falls, as the downtown area was once known.
Selectmen Jim Rinaldo, some merchants and other people have been meeting for the past few months to come up with a plan to direct traffic into the main business areas. Many people have concerns that the major highways bypass the village.
“We’re trying to get people into the town,” Rinaldo said.
The oval-shaped signs will be posted atop Falls Hills, just over the so-called Red Bridge from Mexico near Hosmer Field, and just past MeadWestvaco along Route 108.
By using “Historic Rumford Falls” in the entrance signs, committee member Abbey Rice said the group hopes to create an image for the town.
“People like historic districts. This will kick our town up a notch where it should be,” she said.
Rinaldo estimated the cost for the signs at less than $10,000, but couldn’t be more specific. Funds may come from the town’s economic development account, said Town manager Steve Eldridge. Bids are due at the Town Office by March 7.
Abbott Farm Plaza
In other economic matters, selectmen approved a bid package for the sale of Abbott Farm Plaza.
Those bids are also due March 7, with final closing no later than March 28.
The successful bidder for the former shopping center must present a development plan that would include the number and type of jobs created, and must agree not to sell the property for three years without permission from town officials.
The town would have first option to buy the complex at the original purchase price. The minimum bid is $200,000.
Eldridge said two Massachusetts businesses and one local man have indicated interest in buying and developing the property. Most of the plaza’s surrounding 78 acres will not be part of the deal.
The buildings and land were donated to the town late last year by Ronrum Realty LLC. The plaza had been a shopping center, anchored most recently by the now-closed Ames Department Store.
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