Lewiston City Council Workshop and regular meeting

June 21, 2016

Lewiston City Hall 

Out-of-state recycling
What happened: Lewiston will become a destination for recycling from Vermont, New Hampshire and Quebec, councilors agreed Tuesday.
What it means: Councilors voted to expand Casella’s lease at the recycling facility near the city’s landfill south of downtown. The expansion lets the company hire 30 more employees, expand to a second shift, open an hour earlier and close an hour later. The operation will run from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The expanded operation lets Casella send recycling from northern New England to be sorted at the Lewiston facility. Councilors Jim Lysen and Mike Lachance said they would draw the line at the U.S. border, and voted against letting Casella bring in recycling from Quebec to be sorted here. They lost that debate, and the contract change passed by a 5-2 vote.
What’s next: The company should begin ramping up production at the River Road facility this summer.

Bus to Portland
What happened: Regular bus service between L-A and Portland may be a great idea, but now is not the right time for it, councilors agreed Tuesday.
What it means: In 2013, Lewiston, Auburn and Portland began talking about studying bus service between Maine’s two biggest communities. The study has been delayed again and again and now looks to be finished next spring. Early estimates say the service could cost between $80,000 and $240,000 a year for each city.
Councilors agreed that’s too much now and canceled Lewiston’s participation in the study.
What’s next: Councilors left the door open for future studies if both city councils in Lewiston and Auburn agree and share costs for the service equally.  

Homeland Security money
What happened: Lewiston could be in line for new Fire Department breathing gear, and hazardous materials and equipment training, thanks to a Homeland Security grant.
What it means: Lewiston is one of six Maine cities to qualify for federal Homeland Security money again this year. Lewiston will receive up to $163,000 and now the city must apply to the Maine Emergency Management Agency with a plan for how to spend its share. Fire Chief Paul Leclair has written a wish list detailing ways the money can help, including training and surveillance, breathing/radio equipment. Councilors agreed, clearing the way for Leclair to get Lewiston’s requests on the record.
What’s next: The city should find out how it fared later this summer or early fall.  

Summer concerts
What happened: With a new amphitheater at Simard-Payne Memorial Park and plenty of city venues available, several groups want to schedule outdoor concerts in the city this summer. But first, they need the City Council to sign off.
What it means: Councilors approved outdoor concerts in the city this summer, beginning with the grand opening of the Simard-Payne amphitheater at 4:30 p.m. Friday and the Great Falls Brewfest in Simard-Payne Memorial Park on Saturday.
They opened Dufresne Plaza to concerts on the last Friday of every month as part of the ongoing Art Walk series. That includes performances this Friday, July 29, Aug. 26 and Sept. 30.
They also signed off on the Liberty Festival’s slate of live music July 1-5 in Veterans Park at the foot of Great Falls, the Arts in the Park concert scheduled for 4 p.m. July 14, and concerts for Aug. 11 and Sept. 8 in Simard-Payne Park.
Councilors also signed off on live music performances each Sunday through October at the Lewiston Farmers Market at the Bates Mill No. 5 parking lot off Main Street.  

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