March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Waterville mayor hails economic upturn > New construction, Hathaway survival fuel `can-do’ attitude

WATERVILLE — Waterville’s Mayor Ruth Joseph said Monday that 1996 has been a very rosy economic year for her city, a year that saw an upturn in both new business and commercial growth and resulted in a new “can-do” attitude.

She said 1997 promises to be even better.

Reflecting on the successes of the past year, Joseph said, “We are just trying to catch our breath right now in anticipation of the new year and new projects.”

A year ago, Joseph said she made a promise to change “Waterville’s glum attitude.” With dozens of new businesses, lots of construction — including a new Waterville-Winslow bridge — and garnering a coveted $3.47 million intermodal facility in the city, Joseph said Waterville’s attitude is upbeat for the new year.

“I like to say that Waterville is open for business, and 1996 certainly proved that,” said Joseph. “There is so much construction going on in Waterville that, although we are pleased, it takes daily attention.”

Keeping the C.F. Hathaway Shirt Co. — and its hundreds of jobs — up and running was one of the city’s greatest success stories of the year, as Waterville officials assisted in bringing together an investment group to purchase the company last fall.

Another success was keeping the Central Maine Morning Sentinel headquarters in Waterville with a major building construction project downtown.

Also nearing completion is the reclamation of the former Sterns building as a visual and performing arts center, a commercial center and the home of four Waterville city departments and the council chambers.

“This is a project that really made the people of Waterville feel good,” said Joseph. “To be able to rescue this building and the arts center for the city has been very rewarding.”

Although Joseph said the building will be a mixed-use facility, the emphasis will be on the arts.

The city offices should be ready for occupancy by about the third week of January, just in time for City Hall’s first floor to be expanded for police use. Last year, Waterville residents turned down a $4.5 million bond issue that would have been used to build a new police station. Joseph said she thought voters were not clear on how the money would be spent and therefore defeated the proposal.

But with four city offices moving to the Sterns building, which is connected to City Hall by an impressive sky walk, the Police Department now will expand. “They will now take the whole first floor of City Hall,” said Joseph.

The mayor is most excited about repairs to the Two-Cent Bridge, the country’s only pedestrian toll bridge. Located across from City Hall and spanning the Kennebec River, the bridge was damaged during a recent Fourth of July celebration that got out of control.

“Once repairs are made,” said Joseph, “we are going to light the suspension of the bridge, making it a tourist attraction.”

Unlike many other Maine towns and cities, Waterville’s downtown is not empty but instead offers a wide variety of specialty and unique shops.

The bridge and other downtown improvements are part of a redesign that Waterville hopes to implement with a $400,000 state grant the city is seeking. The redesign will replace the downtown area’s 5 acres of pavement with a series of interconnected parking areas, walkways, grassy areas and rows of trees.

Other major projects started or approved in 1996 and expected to be completed in 1997 include: High Hopes Clubhouse on Silver Street, a state-operated vocational and social center for the mentally ill; reconstruction of several mall areas on Kennedy Memorial Drive; the location of a new testing facility for Avian Farms Inc.; the merger of Mid-Maine Medical Center and Kennebec Valley Medical Center and the proposed merger of Inland Hospital with Eastern Maine Medical Center.


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