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.”