By Amanda Estes

Staff Writer

    The newly formed group, Friends of Mill Creek Park,
received their first major contribution towards renovating the park at
last Thursday’s opening of the South Portland branch of Bangor Savings
Bank.

    Jim Conlon, Bangor Savings’ CEO, presented a check
for $2,500 to the group as part of an initiative to give back to the
communities the bank will serve.

    The Friends of Mill Creek Park committee met for the
first time on Feb. 1.  The committee has received logistical
support from city councilors and the parks department as it develops a
plan to revitalize and renovate the park. Located within the triangle
formed by Broadway, Cottage Road, and Ocean Street, the park was built
after WWII to honor veterans. Since that time it has become a focal
point of the Knightville Mill Creek area.

    “Sadly, it needs some work. It will be a long
process, and we’re going to do it right,” said John Ely, the
committee’s co-chair. Ely said he was unsure how the contribution would
be spent because the committee is still in the early stages of
planning.  The committee is seeking out as many pro bono services
as possible and Ely said he has heard from several consultants willing
to offer their services.  He said the first phase of renovation
would most likely include hiring soil test engineers and
hydrologists.  The pond presents a water quality issue because it
is filling with sediment and it will have to be dredged and refilled
with water,” Ely said. 

    Aesthetic improvements are also planned for the
gazebo, which Ely called, “an expensive proposition,” and the
bridge.  The bridge’s steps prevent it from being accessible to
everyone.

    “Mobility in the park is a big concern,” he said.
“The park is not easy to negotiate.” Ely said plans to improve mobility
may include improving existing paths and adding more paths, but they
will have to consider the environmental impacts of those actions.

    Susan Raye, a member of the Knightville Mill Creek
Neighborhood Association as well as the Knightville Mill Creek
Neighborhood Master Plan Steering Committee, said when the Friends of
Mill Creek Park meeting was publicly announced, the group was “amazed
by the turnout.”

    “People had great stories to tell about their use of
the park and they came in with a whole lot of energy,” Raye said. “We
need to address the whole issue. We need to look at how the park is
used and how its use could be expanded. We are approaching it in a
comprehensive way and coming up with a long-range plan. A comprehensive
plan was created in 1980 and there are a lot of things from that plan
still applicable today.”

    Rommy Brown, chairperson of the Knightville Mill
Creek Neighborhood Association, helped organize the Friends of Mill
Creek Park committee and she said she was “very excited” to see the
group receive this first contribution towards improvements.

    “We live in a high-density neighborhood with small
lots and an in town park is an important resource for people that work
and live here,” she said.

    Ely said the earlier plan called for $160,000 worth
of improvements. It is unclear what the current costs of improvements
will be.

    “Friends of Mill Creek Park is exactly in line with
our mission,” Conlon said. “Here is a grassroots organization that has
formed to undertake the renovation of a truly valuable community asset.”