ROCKLAND, Maine — City government has reversed an earlier decision and on Monday began decorating downtown streetlights with Christmas wreaths.
City Manager James Chaousis said in September he had informed the downtown association, Rockland Main Street Inc., that the city would likely be replacing its downtown streetlights before Christmas and thus it would not make sense to decorate them this year.
But on Monday, the manager said the initial decision to not hang wreaths was based on poor information.
He has since learned that the poles will not be replaced in the next several months, and so has directed city workers to decorate the poles with wreaths to make the downtown look festive. Public services crews began decorating Monday.
Rockland Main Street Executive Director Gordon Page said he gives the city manager a lot of credit for moving ahead with the decorations.
“This action demonstrates the willingness of the city manager to turn lemons into lemonade with the knowledge that the light pole replacement project is behind schedule. The light pole replacement project was the impetus in the decision earlier this year to do without wreaths. His willingness to consider the concerns of the downtown merchants and residents, and to alter his decision based on new information, speaks volumes about his integrity,” Page said.
Page said the decorations — including lights on the tree at Winslow Holbrook Memorial Park — should be completed by Tuesday at the latest.
Chaousis said the replacement of the streetlights will likely not be done during the current budget year and it would not look favorably on the city if the downtown went without decorations during the holiday season.
The city wants to replace the street lights that they now lease from Central Maine Power and replace them with more energy efficient lights that Rockland would own.