"[7] Park plans included a 4,000-seat amphitheater and concert space;[5] trails for hiking, Nordic skiing and snowshoeing;[1] restaurants, shops, and a hotel in a sector called the Village of Old Glory;[7] six Halls of History museums with "immersive tech-driven exhibits.
[8] Two days later, Triple Impact Connections, which labels itself as "a first-of-its-kind veteran-owned customer contact center staffed by military spouses," issued a press release stating that it had partnered with the Flagpole of Freedom team.
"[11] On March 17, 2023, five days before Columbia Falls residents were to vote on a moratorium on large-scale developments in the town, Mike Worcester said the family was "in the process of returning" donors' money because of the delays, but remained "committed to moving this project forward.
Its language exempted the property from a Maine state statute that requires a municipality to adopt planning and zoning rules for annexed lands that are at least as protective as those applied by LUPC.
The Select Board also resolved to "ensure that the voters of the Town have the opportunity to become fully and fairly informed of the scope and scale of potential impacts of the Annexation Proposal and the Project."
In a statement released October 14, 2022, Rob Worcester objected to the proposed $150,000 deposit, but said "we would very much like to find an agreeable figure that meets both the municipality's needs, and ours.
"[16] On July 15, 2022, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a notice of violation to Worcester Holdings LLC related to the construction of Flagpole of Freedom Cabins.
"[17] In the letter to Worcester Holdings, the DEP said the company failed to comply with Maine's Site Location of Development Act and Erosion and Sedimentation Control Law.
During the inspection staff found 54 cabins, an office building, a take-out restaurant, parking areas and access roads that were either under construction or had been completed.
"[1] One October 22, 2022, Worcester Resources lawyer Pease told the Columbia Falls Board of Selectmen that some veterans groups declined to contribute to the project because of its for-profit status.
"[1] Charles Kniffen, a combat-wounded veteran of the Vietnam War and the author of "Fifty Years in a Foxhole," penned an op-ed, calling the project "an affront," perceiving it "as an effort to cash in...far beyond any claim to respect," concluding "a giant flagpole marring the beauty of our land and beckoning with an unsightly frenzy of flags to persons from afar is no honor.
"[23] Andrew Carleen, a U.S. Navy-veteran, recalled the "Things Unnecessary" store in The Simpsons 'Tis the Fifteenth Season, calling "[t]he entire plan is a masterstroke of ostentatiousness."
Carleen contrasted it to the Vietnam War Memorial, stating that "they do so while annihilating the sober minimalism that makes the original so striking," terming it, as well as the overuse of the flag, as "a child's definition of patriotism."