By Pine Point Association

With moderate temperatures and days growing shorter, the summer season is easing into fall at the beach.  

Late summer was both a relaxing time and a busy time with the town hosting the East Grand Avenue Road Project on July 29 and the Pine Point Association holding our General Membership and Community Meeting on August 26.

The Complete Streets project for East Grand Ave was presented and will now move into the planning phases. Complete Streets are designed to provide safety for vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians and this design will enhance East Grand Ave with wider sidewalks, more crosswalks, and a two-way bike lane. Our association website will contain updates as we receive them. 

The General Membership and Community Meeting included reports and discussions with our town manager, police chief, fire chief, and a representative from Maine Water. We began each discussion with prepared questions. As each official answered, they included more information, then our membership had the opportunity to ask questions. The questions from the residents showed that they care deeply about their own safety and well-being, and that they want to share Pine Point with all who wish to visit while maintaining the high quality of life we all expect and value in our neighborhoods. 

Town Manager Tom Hall shared that the paving project for the King Street/Jones Creek/Pillsbury Shores neighborhoods will be postponed for one year to facilitate some required work by Maine Water. Police Chief Mark Holmquist joined Tom Hall to share his department’s work to keep our streets safe and they patiently took many questions. Fire Chief Rich Kindelan gave a full account of the recent structure fire at Pillsbury Shores that led to the involvement of Maine Water to address water volume, pressure, and delivery. During that fire, water pressure was lost at the closest hydrant and tanker trucks were brought in from Scarborough and neighboring towns to assist with the response. It was determined that due to the age of the pipes, along with corrosion, the water pressure level was very low. To solve this issue, engineering will begin this fall. Maine Water will install new water mains in the spring which should significantly enhance both flow and pressure. Chief Kindelan also gave a full explanation of the operations of Engine Four, the Pine Point Firehouse, and the general plan for emergency response for all of Pine Point, which comes out of Dunstan Fire Station primarily.

We hope this meeting format was a beneficial experience for all and perhaps a model that other neighborhoods can use when interacting with our town officials.

Altogether, another glorious summer at Pine Point – with a final note on local occupancy rates.  Cindy Anastasoff, from Curry Agency shared that the rentals in Pine Point in general were down this summer – partially due to the large decrease in Canadian bookings as well as many cancellations from Canadian tourists and an overall decrease in activity. We hope for improvement next year.

Welcome to fall at Pine Point! Enjoy the beach and visit the businesses before they close for the season!

Want to get involved? Visit PinePointAssociation.org or contact Board Chair Heidi Davis at thedavishome@comcast.net or Association President George Mageles at gmageles@hotmail.com.

Photo: Pine Point Association Board Members. Front row: Board Chair Heidi Davis, Director Pat Degon, Recording Secretary Rosemary Harris, Corresponding Secretary Dory Hoy. Back row: Director Jeff Thurlow, Director Charlie Pompea, President George Mageles, Director Don Hamill, Vice Chair Rich Silkman