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Seeking input from University of Maine students, members of the Orono Town Council visited campus on Monday night for an open forum with the university community. At the small meeting, downtown revitalization and the improvement of student-town relations were the highlights of the discussion.
“I would say, over the last five years, that this council has been very focused on improving the relations between the town and the university,” said council member Geoff Gordon, who led the informal meeting. He expressed that lately there has seemed to be a “lack of synergy” between the town and the university, and the council is making an effort to reach out to students.
At the meeting were members of the town council, Town Manager Cathy Conlow and Orono Police Chief Gary Duquette. Staff associate for Commuter and Non-Traditional Programs Barbara Smith and deans of students Robert Dana and Angel Loredo attended the event as well. Fewer than 10 students attended the event.
“We are grassroots politicians,” said council member Lianne Harris. “We take care of everyday needs. Therefore, we represent your needs and we’re trying to meet as many needs as we can, but you really need to approach us on a one-to-one basis.”
Council member and long-time Orono resident John Bradson said, “There has been a separation growing between the town and the university.”
“I feel there is a vibrancy in the town that has been slowly eroded,” Bradson said. “I’d like to see more students downtown – living downtown, walking downtown.”
The decline of the low-profile downtown is common to many towns, Town Manager Cathy Conlow said, but Orono has shown signs of improvement. In order to improve the nightlife in downtown, the community has to work to improve the number of people who frequent during the day.
One solution proposed is a shuttle service around the university campus and Orono. With the shuttle, the town is trying to minimize traffic through downtown Orono and bring more people into Orono village.
Another solution is to promote student internships to develop marketing of the downtown businesses and the town’s trail systems. Town officials said they welcomed student ideas and input with regards to marketing, and encouraged more students to get involved.
Currently the town is in the process of improving its trail systems. Orono recently hired a planner, Evan Richert, who is working on connecting the waterfront to downtown Orono, Conlow said. The town has purchased a property on Pierce St. that they plan to develop into a canoe launch and picnic area.
As well as developing the downtown area, the town is paying close attention to avoiding the outward sprawl and promoting housing development in its medium residential zone.
“We’re beginning to question whether or not we can afford to have a high school in this community any more,” Gordon said. “Everyone in the state is struggling with this.”
If the town can gain more students, its schools can gain more funding from the state. The high school has the capacity to hold 400 to 500 more students, and the town is trying to encourage more cluster development while preserving Orono’s large open spaces, Gordon said.
The meeting ended on a positive note. Dean Dana said, “This is probably one of [in university-town relations the] best times that we’ve had for some years . There are things to do for students and the town is welcoming their involvement.”
Conlow encouraged students to take advantage of the opportunities the town provides, such as the trail system and the library, which hosts a wide collection of recent movies. She asked students to come and speak with the council members if they had suggestions or concerns with the town, and denied the notion that the town was “anti-students.”
“[My family] moved here because it’s a college town, because there are young people. There’s energy,” she said. She acknowledged that starting a dialogue is tough, but would become easier over time.
“We all want the same thing, I think,” she said.
Bangor Daily News