Board: Lewiston City Council

Met: Tuesday night

Summer festivals

Issue: Local summer festivals don’t happen in a vacuum, and organizers have asked for city help setting things up and keeping them safe.

The scoop: Councilors approved logistical support for Twin Cities two big festivals – the July 4 Liberty Festival, and the Great Falls Balloon Festival, scheduled for Aug. 17-19. That support includes the use of city parks, closing some downtown streets, police parking enforcement and trash collection. They also approved the Liberty Festival’s outdoor entertainment permit.

Councilors also agreed to loan several tables and chairs to Lisbon for the annual Moxie Festival, scheduled for July 13-15.

Farmer’s Market signs

Issue: The Lewiston Farmer’s Market is scheduled to open July 10. The market will run every Tuesday from 2-6 p.m. through Oct. 30 at the Bates and Pine streets corner of Kennedy Park. Organizers want to put up signs advertising the market.

The scoop: Councilors approved five temporary signs directing drivers to the market. Two will be placed on traffic islands on Main Street, at Lisbon and Sabattus streets. A third will be placed on an island at the Sabattus and Hammond streets intersection. Two others will be placed at the northwest and southwest corners of the park.

Remember the Maine

Issue: The Lewiston Auburn Veterans Council is hoping to build a monument to the USS Maine in Veterans Park, at the foot of the Great Falls and just north of Main Street. The ship was sunk in Havana Harbor on Feb. 15, 1898, at the outset of the Spanish American War. The monument would include a shell from the ship, recovered from the harbor and stored in Lewiston City Hall.

The scoop: The entire monument should cost $10,000 to build. Councilors agreed to give the group half – $5,000 from the city’s fund balances. Members of the veterans council are looking for donations to help raise the rest.

Up next: Organizers hope to have the monument finished by the end of September.

Liquor licenses

Issue: Local restaurants and bars must reapply for liquor licenses and amusement permits each year. Liquor licenses let them serve alcohol; amusement permits let them play music, have a DJ or karaoke, or have games on site.

The scoop: Councilors approved a new liquor license and special use permit for She Doesn’t Like Guthries, 115 Middle St.

Contact government reporter Scott Taylor via phone at 689-2846 or via e-mail at [email protected]