Small town faces huge decision: Take on oversight of proposed $1 billion park or not

MAINE MONITOR • June 5, 2022

Residents of the sleepy hamlet of Columbia Falls are grappling with whether they want to take on oversight of a proposed $1 billion, 2,500-acre Flagpole of Freedom Park. The park, with its eight miles of loop roads, six miles of gondolas, several villages, campgrounds, a hotel, theater, restaurants and shops, would be more akin to a small city. The company expects the development—“part national monument, art historical adventure, immersive tech-driven museum and architectural wonder”—to attract 6 million visitors and 5,000 employees. That’s substantially more than the number of visits logged at nearby Acadia National Park. Nearly all of the planning responsibility could fall on the town of Columbia Falls, population 476. That has some people worried.