PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — April 19, 2024 — Presque Isle Parks and Recreation staff cleaned up some trash left behind by campers. This vacant lot at Riverside Park is shown on April 15th (left), littered with trash, and on April 19th after staff have cleaned it up. (Paula Brewer | Star Herald)
PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Presque Isle Recreation and Parks staff are busy cleaning up city streets for spring, but the human handiwork is making things difficult.
In addition to trash left behind by what appears to be a homeless encampment at Riverside Park, the dugouts at Bishop’s Island baseball stadium were recently desecrated with obscenities and racial slurs.
With pavilions, walking trails, a splash pad, and a large recreational area, Riverside Park is one of the city’s most used public spaces. The encampments in particular have raised safety concerns among residents, some of whom have vented on social media pages such as “Concerned Citizens of Presque Isle.”
They’re not the only ones frustrated. Gene Cronin, the city’s recreation and parks director, said graffiti and widespread trash stress employees and increase their workload.
“We’ve heard a lot of complaints. It’s clear that people are upset about the vandalism and the words and depictions that were spray-painted on the dugout,” Cronin said. “They are also upset about littering from the encampment and there are safety concerns.”
The graffiti was identified Monday and included obscene language, racial slurs and other writings, including a swastika.
Cronin said Parks and Recreation staff called the Presque Isle Police Department, but so far police have not reported any leads as to who desecrated the property.
Most of the graffiti was removed earlier this week.
Cronin said trash from people living in the park’s wooded areas is an ongoing problem.
“We have been fighting the encampment for the past two years,” he said. “It really started [when] Voucher programs for various hotels have ended, leaving people with nowhere to go. They were trying to find their place. ”
Cities across Maine are grappling with tent cities in the face of rising homelessness. Bangor and Portland have been fighting to clear the encampment. Presque Isle does not have a large tent community, but tents and trash have been seen in various parts of the city.
The problem, Cronin said, is that people set up temporary tents or shelters on park grounds and then move on, leaving the area in disarray. Park staff will then dispose of the trash.
On Monday, the partially cleared forested area of the park was littered with the remains of tents, trash paper, trash and clothing. The area was then cleaned up.
Cronin said police will increase patrols in the area, but he and his staff have other ideas for deterring people from camping in public.
They want to start a park ranger program to better monitor the city’s public areas. Rangers patrolled parks and bike paths irregularly, he said.
Another element includes addressing trees and brush near trails in Riverside Park.
“We are cutting down trees to open things up more,” he said. “That way you’ll be more visible from there and there’ll be fewer places to hide.”
