SKOWHEGAN — It will be up to town voters, not the select board, to sign off on one of the final requirements for construction to begin on the Skowhegan River Park. 

The approval of a lease agreement between the town and the economic revitalization nonprofit Main Street Skowhegan is among three items on the agenda at a special town meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday.

The meeting will be held at Skowhegan Opera House, upstairs in the municipal building at 225 Water St.

The proposed lease agreement formalizes the relationship between the town, which technically has authority over the project, and Main Street Skowhegan, which has spearheaded the park’s planning, permitting and fundraising and expects to manage the park’s operations once it is constructed.

Town Manager Nicholas Nadeau said the select board decided to pursue developing the lease and now recommends voters approve it. Main Street Skowhegan is also hoping voters give the green light.

“The River Park represents an opportunity for us to build something truly transformative — not just for visitors, but for the people who live and work here,” Main Street Skowhegan President and CEO Kristina Cannon said in a statement. “Phase 1 gives our community access to the Kennebec River, supports small businesses, and will help attract new energy and investment. After years of planning, permitting, design, and lots of community engagement, we’re ready to take this next step with the Town’s support.”

The proposal is a 10-year agreement, renewable for up to three, five-year extensions,  to cover the first phase of the River Park as well as a related riverfront boardwalk development. That includes an adjustable whitewater surf and kayak wave, an access road into the river on the south side, and the first 4,500 square feet of riverfront boardwalk on the north side, extending 130 feet west from the walking bridge.

The lease would require Main Street Skowhegan to pay $1 per year for use of several lots on both the north and south banks of the Kennebec River gorge near downtown Skowhegan. 

Main Street Skowhegan would be responsible for paying for utilities and most maintenance, aside from landscaping and snow removal. The organization would also be required to maintain liability insurance of at least $2 million that also names the town as an insured party.

Among many other details of the arrangement, the proposed lease also specifies that when it ends, the town would take ownership of the improvements and Main Street Skowhegan would be responsible for decommissioning the in-river infrastructure.

The lease was drafted as some residents and officials have continued to ask questions about the River Park’s impact on public safety services, future maintenance costs and the town’s liability, among other issues. Main Street Skowhegan has been eyeing a construction start date in early 2026 now that it has its permits in hand.

The sides first approached the issue earlier this year by drafting cooperative agreements for both the planned in-river park and a related riverfront boardwalk development.

More than 100 people from around the state, most of them River Park supporters, flocked to Skowhegan in September when the select board was set to vote on the agreements.

Instead, the board tabled the vote and said it would revisit it at an October meeting. That never happened.

Since then, the five-member select board, chaired by Whitney Cunliffe, decided that a more formal lease would be a better approach, Nadeau said. The town’s attorneys helped develop it, he said.

“A lease is just more formal,” Nadeau said. “When you go to rent an apartment, you would sign a lease and not just a memorandum of understanding. … The lease is just a more formal and official way to solidify an agreement. It’s sort of required in municipalities for certain things, and improvement to town land is one of them.”

Cannon said part of the delay since the discussion earlier this fall was due to the time needed to finalize details such as liability insurance.

Overall plans for the project, formerly known as Run of River and in the works for two decades, include improved river access, whitewater paddling and surfing features, and other recreation infrastructure, including a riverfront boardwalk and a four-season trail system along the Kennebec River.

Supporters believe the River Park will play a key role in efforts to develop Skowhegan into a regional outdoor destination. 

Various delays over the years have pushed back the beginning of construction. 

Construction of both the first phase of the River Park and the riverfront boardwalk is anticipated to begin in early 2026, Cannon said. Orono-based Sargent Corp. has been hired to oversee the River Park work; a request for bids is expected soon for the boardwalk work.

Main Street Skowhegan says so far it has secured approximately $6.1 million to start construction of the River Park’s first phase.

That figure includes $4.89 million from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, about $1 million from Skowhegan’s Sappi tax increment financing agreement, about $200,000 the nonprofit has raised and a $75,000 donation from New Balance. The EDA grant was technically awarded to the town but Cannon said federal officials said Main Street Skowhegan can use the funds.

However, Cannon said Thursday more fundraising is necessary to begin construction, and she is working to secure funding.

As for the riverfront boardwalk, in 2022, $2 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development was awarded through a Congressional earmark. Of that, $1 million is set aside for initial construction.

Main Street Skowhegan has maintained that The Nature Conservancy’s recently announced intentions to remove four upper Kennebec River dams, including the Weston Dam in Skowhegan, will not affect the River Park. If anything, the organization believes the dam removal would create more opportunities for the River Park to expand upstream and contribute to a healthier river ecosystem.

PROPERTY ACQUISITION

Town officials are also asking for voters’ permission to spend up to $16,000 to purchase a parcel at 153 Red Bridge Road from John L. Terstegen. Of that total, $15,000 would be for the acquisition and the other $1,000 for closing costs.

The parcel, on the Canaan town line, is needed to create a turnaround on the road, Nadeau said. The turnaround is necessary to meet state law about dead-end roads, as the town plans to remove the bridge over Carrabassett Stream that crosses into Canaan.

The bridge has fallen into disrepair and was closed to traffic in 2021.

At one point there was discussion about replacing the bridge, but Canaan officials have not been interested in footing the bill for their side.

After batting around the issue at several meetings in recent years, Skowhegan town officials decided the best course of action was to remove the bridge.

“We’re just coordinating with Canaan and a contractor on it,” Nadeau said. “Regardless, it’s going to get removed.”

POLICE ORDINANCE

Finally, voters are being asked to make a minor change to the ordinance that governs the Police Department, allowing the town manager to reappoint officers, the deputy chief and the chief each year on their respective dates of hire.

Currently, the ordinance requires the select board to make the appointments each year.

Police Chief David Bucknam suggested the change. He said it is a burden for both his department and Town Clerk Gail Pelotte, who administers the oaths for the officers, to coordinate with each other each year. 

Bucknam said the annual requirement for police officers to be sworn in appears to be unique to Skowhegan. Pelotte agreed and said she supported the change.