Interim Town Manager – Christina Therrien
Interim Office Manager – Sarah Craighead-Dedmon
The Machias Town Office has temporarily moved to 17 Stackpole Drive
phone # 207-255-6621/8683
7 Court Street, Suite #1
P.O. Box 418
Machias, Maine 04654
Monday Through Friday
Phone: 207-255-6621
Email: townclerk@machiasme.org
Welcome to the website for the Town of Machias.
The Town of Machias was incorporated on June 23, 1775 and was named as the Shiretown of Washington County in 1790. The Town is comprised of 14.80 square miles consisting of 13.87 square miles of land and .93 square mile of water.
The Town operates under the Town Manager Plan as defined in M.R.S.A. Title 30-A § 2631. The Town has an Annual Town Meeting, an elected five member Board of Selectmen, and an elected five member School Committee. The Town Manager is an appointed position.
The Town Manager serves as the Airport Manager, Economic and Community Development Director, the General Assistance Director, the Harbormaster, Public Information Officer, Tax Collector, and the Treasurer.
Duties & Responsibilities
The Town Manager is the Chief Administrative Officer responsible to the Board of Selectmen for the proper administration of the affairs of the Town and daily operations of Town departments.
Additional Links
2024 Town Manager’s Report
July 2023 through June 2024 our Community continued to enjoy a multiyear period of broad revitalization and growth, while we struggled with climate forces and the effect they had on our daily operations, as well as on our short term and longterm planning.
The most disruptive event was the storm of January 10th, which flooded downtown, Route 1, and the Town Office with waist deep waves of saltwater, flotsam, and chunks of ice. We relocated to the town-owned Tele-Business Center across the river and out of the floodplain, where we remain for the near future and look toward plans to build a new town office on Dublin Street.
The storms also devastated the Downeast Sunrise Trail segment that runs along the Machias Bay, breeching a 200 yard expanse to the salt marsh on the other side and closing the trail for several months. Thanks to DOT it was repaired in time for the 2nd Annual Machias ATV Jamboree, which joins our other legendary town-sponsored events including Margaretta Days, The 4th of July, The Wild Blueberry Festival, Trick or Treat on Main Street, the Christmas Festival, and the Bad Little Falls Park Summer Concert Series in bringing tens of thousands of folks to town.
Town Services continued to expand and grow as the Police Department added to its full-time and its reserve ranks, providing seamless coverage for the town and even being heralded on national TV. The Machias Ambulance Service settled in with new leadership and a significant new emphasis on transfer calls, better serving our rural region. Our Machias Fire Department put into service a new-to-us Heavy Rescue Truck, purchased and fully outfitted with ARPA funds, as we enjoyed a remarkable 25+ person volunteer roster.
The Wastewater Treatment Facility neared completion of its ten year upgrade project with the final phase building of the siphon pump station (expected to be completed next year), while we continued to be challenged by an increasing frequency and ferocity of rain events putting additional pressure on capacity and resulting in limited overflows. The Transfer Station reinstated cardboard and plastic recycling, and we invested in a new-to-us bailer which is expected to increase our capacity, and transfer station revenue.
The Machias Valley Airport (MVM) continues to grow as fuel farm operations begin to establish a revenue stream and have increased our based aircraft to four while our operations and traffic have increased by close to 50%. We prepared engineering and permit work for the new taxilane, expected to begin construction in fall of ’24 which will allow us to begin hangar construction (for which there is a waiting list) in 2025. We continue engineering and environmental assessment work on the 4,200’ LifeFlight Runway, which we hope to start property acquisition work for in late 2024.
This past year saw the ongoing restoration of remaining housing and commercial stock along with the renovation of multiple existing rental unit buildings, as well as two newly built rental apartment complexes and a complex of 24 four-season cabin rentals. Over a dozen new businesses opened up including Mason’s Brewing Company, The Anchor, Coffee & Crisp, and La Laiterie to complement Helens, Pat’s, Tom’s (under new management), and Hing Garden.
Overall Machias continues to expand its population, its public services, its tax base, and its measurable quality of life as it helps lead the way as a poster for a resilient, sustainable, and dynamic rural service-center community.
I am grateful to our employees, our Select Board, Planning Board and other volunteers, our many partners locally and statewide, our surrounding communities, and most of all…our people.
Proud & Honored,
Bill Kitchen – Machias Town Manager
ShireTown of Washington County – Gateway To The Bold Coast