
Craig Freshley of Good Group Decisions leads the Augusta City Council goal-setting meeting Saturday at the Augusta Civic Center. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
AUGUSTA — The City Council discussed its top priorities Saturday during the annual goal-setting meeting — many of which are the same as last year.
The top goals established Saturday are increasing economic development; addressing the city’s aging infrastructure, including the Augusta Civic Center; increasing available housing; and better coordinating the delivery of city and social services, including adding public transportation and support for people who are homeless.
Many of those general goals may look familiar, as last year’s goals included economic development, modernizing the Civic Center and increasing housing as well.

Kevin Judkins, Ward 2 city councilor, speaks Saturday during Augusta City Council goal-setting meeting at the Augusta Civic Center. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
Councilors said the city has made progress on those carry-over goals from last year, especially in housing. There are several private rental housing developments in the works, totaling hundreds of new units. There is a proposal to redevelop the former Kmart plaza site with apartments and a hotel. Councilors also plan to replace roofs and update the Civic Center a bit at a time, rather than pay tens of millions at once to replace it.
However, the progress made does not mean those goals have been accomplished and can be checked off the list. So they remain on the to-do list for the coming year as major goals.
Ward 2 Councilor Kevin Judkins said Saturday that the city still needs more housing, especially the addition of more single-family homes to round out the ongoing development of senior and other rental housing. He said economic development should always be a top priority for the city, as it provides funds to help accomplish all the other goals.
“We’re always going to have an economic development goal, we have to, due to the tax structure in Augusta, where state government has more property than anyone else, and they pay no taxes,” Judkins said. “I feel like economic development is pretty much our highest priority, that’s what brings money in. So our highest priority needs to be projects that will build our tax base. From that, we’ll have funds to work on everything else.”
The top goals this coming year each have subsets of specific projects and priorities within them:
• Increase economic activity by becoming more attractive for developers and entrepreneurs, advancing specific projects by attracting and retaining small businesses, and by continuing efforts to improve downtown vitality.
• Establish a citywide infrastructure investment and maintenance plan, which includes sequenced financing for large projects such as the Civic Center.
• Increase housing by improving viability for housing developers, including attention to low-barrier housing and shelters.
• Support our residents and visitors via improved coordination of city and social services, more public transit, and more support for unhoused people.
Ward 3 Councilor Mike Michaud tempered the desire to make progress on goals with a reminder that new spending will impact city taxpayers, many of whom are elderly and already reeling from multiple years of property tax increases.

Craig Freshley of Good Group Decisions facilitates the Augusta City Council’s goal-setting event Saturday at the Augusta Civic Center. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
“Over the last three years we’ve asked taxpayers for 14.1% more, I’m asking that we be cognizant of that,” he said.
Multiple councilors said they need to be ready to implement the anticipated recommendations of the Augusta Task Force on Homelessness, which was formed last year with the task of finding ways to more effectively and efficiently help local people who are homeless.

Mayor Mark O ‘Brien listens to the discussions Saturday during Augusta City Council’s goal-setting event at the Augusta Civic Center. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
Councilors also noted both elderly and homeless residents can have a hard time getting where they need to go in Augusta due to its lack of public transportation, especially with cutbacks in funding for provider Kennebec Valley Community Action Plan in recent years. A subgoal emerging from that discussion was to “understand the transit needs of our residents, businesses and visitors, and work with (Kennebec Valley Community Action Plan) and the Age-Friendly Augusta Committee to understand how the city can support more public transit.”
Mayor Mark O’Brien said the annual goal-setting is likely among the most important things councilors do, as “the guide star for what we do in the coming year.”
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