In front of a standing-room only crowd that spilled into a hallway, the Presque Isle City Council unanimously voted Thursday night to indefinitely table a vote that would allow the city to enter a purchase and sale agreement for the Nordic Heritage Center, a 750-acre recreation space and event venue on the edge of the city.
More than 20 people spoke before the council, presenting in nearly equal factions of those in favor and against immediately pursuing the purchase. The council ultimately tabled the matter, with members saying they were missing key facts, including information about the property’s flaws and a concrete financial plan that would make the property sustainable.
“Nobody don’t know nothing,” Councilor Craig Green said at one point near the end of their discussion. “We don’t have any facts. We don’t have anything. “We have a lot of [fervor] and we have a lot of emotion, but we don’t have anything that we, as a fiduciary for the city, can sit here and say to the public: here’s our plan.”
The meeting was both civil and at times unruly — the audience repeatedly interrupted councilors as they deliberated. It was also fiery and occasionally emotional, as those who frequented the outdoor center reflected on what it meant to them.
“It feels like a once in a generation sort of opportunity,” resident J.D. Christensen said. “It’s the right price.”
The city offered that price, $1 million, in a letter of interest to the Libra Foundation, the nonprofit that built and funded the center for 25 years. As a result, Libra asked the city to enter a purchase and sale agreement. The foundation owns the property through Pineland Farms of New Gloucester, an agricultural nonprofit that Libra oversees through a holding company.
It’s just over a third of the original $2.9 million asking price for the property, which was put up for sale in January after closing in December of 2024.
“Pump the brakes” became a common refrain from those opposed to the purchase, the majority of whom said they wanted to see the property be saved in some form, just not at the expense of Presque Isle taxpayers.
But for others, that price is still too high. Many residents cited their own rising property tax bills and deep cuts in the city’s initial 2026 budget, presented by City Manager Sonja Eyler during a budget hearing earlier in the night, as reasons to not purchase the center.
The accelerated timeline, others countered, was necessary to secure the property, which councilors said has been receiving other offers.
“There’s a very high chance that we’re going to lose the opportunity,” Councilor Tim Levesque said.
A referendum on the purchase cannot be held until at least March, City Clerk Kim Finnemore said. And even then, she said, the question would have to include authorizing an amount for the purchase, which Pineland Farms could ultimately reject.
For those reasons, a motion made by Green to put the decision to a referendum sputtered out.
“I don’t believe Pineland Farms has an appetite to wait several months,” Eyler said.
Prominent Presque Isle businessman Chris Condon, the former president and CEO of United Insurance and a key member of the group Friends of Nordic, suggested the city pursue a joint venture with the private sector. He indicated that he had a “number of friends and clients” willing to give money to support that.
“I’ve got $500,000 in my head to start,” Condon said.
But without presenting an official plan for such a venture Thursday, his suggestion did not appear to sway many in the room.
“I really do encourage you Chris, because I think that you’re on the right path,” resident Kamden Bates said. “I just don’t think that this falls to the taxpayer to be responsible for.”
Several councilors, including Mike Chasse, who has been vocal about his desire to save the property, noted the civil nature of most of Thursday’s meeting, but acknowledged the days leading up to the vote were anything but.
“I’ve been accosted at a soccer game, [there have been] nasty messages online. I’ve seen people ask for Sonja’s resignation and the resignation of some of us, and a lot of that was on half information,” Chasse said. “As a society or people, we’ve got to tone it down a little bit. If you don’t think I’m doing a good job, don’t vote me in. But if you don’t trust me, then what’s the point of having the seven of us?”
As the night drew on, the crowd began to shout questions at councilors and over one another as the council discussed its options. In the end, citing the number of unanswered questions councilors themselves had, the council tabled the matter indefinitely to gather more information.
