The Wiscasset Public Advisory Downtown Committee, set to wind down in the next couple of months, selected Bill Maloney as its chair May 21. Maloney will chair until the PAC expires.

Several business community members asked that more businesspeople be added to the committee. Maloney said the PAC will have to ask selectmen. He added, in his opinion, the PAC should remain in operation at least through the beginning of the construction phase to assist with communication.

That was not part of the mission, so it would take selectmen's approval of a new mission, member Bob Blagden said. Member Katharine Martin-Savage said she would seek to have it on selectmen’s June 5 agenda. The PAC plans to meet at 5 p.m. that day. The select board meets at 6 p.m.

Still remaining on the original mission for the PAC is parking. Police Chief Jeff Lange was out of town, and the parking subcommittee has yet to submit its recommendations to the PAC, which would, in turn, give them to selectmen. Lange has been vocal that several parking spaces along the side streets are not legal. He has said they encroach on crosswalks and are too close to fire hydrants, and he would oppose keeping them. Additionally, MDOT opposes keeping parking within six spaces of the cross streets, because the traffic signals will make parking in those spaces difficult and dangerous. A planned parking lot where the Haggett building is now is not part of the contract, so the main parking area for Wiscasset, during and after the project, would be at the Railroad Avenue lot.

Martin-Savage said selectmen have written a letter asking for the Haggett building to be included in the contract as a parking area. It will be used as a staging area and construction office during the construction phase for the contractor, Pike Industries.

Also in the meeting, MDOT’s Meg Lane showed a video of projects in Hallowell and Kennebunkport. The video demonstrated different ways business owners tried to encourage business during their construction phases. According to the video, the businesses thrived during construction, even though there were detours, parking disruptions, and other issues. Lane strongly urged business owners and members of the public to sign up for email alerts at http://www.maine.gov/mdot/projects/wiscasset/downtown/contact/. Project manager Ernie Martin said, subscribers to the emails will receive immediate notification of when and where construction will be taking place, notification of detours, and other essential information. Lane also recommended businesses band together to create events around the construction as other communities have done to increase the likelihood that disruptions will not take a toll on business income.