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Friends of Midcoast Maine
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Rockland Commercial Area Vision Project
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Friends of Midcoast Maine has partnered with the Rockland Economic Development Advisory Committee to work with community members and property owners to develop a new vision for the Camden Street commercial strip from Maverick Street north to Warrenton Street in Rockport. This project has been endorsed by the Rockland City Council and the Rockport Board of Selectmen.
Over the past nine months, REDAC and FMM have held 5 public workshops to solicit ideas from the community and to present information from other places to offer the greatest possible number and range of options for the community to consider.
Design Phase:
The project is now in the design phase. A consultant has been selected to work with REDAC and interested property owners to redesign 5-6 selected properties and the public street in front of each property along Camden Street between Maverick Street and Warrenton Street. If a property owner is interested in working with REDAC, FMM and the consultant over the next few months to receive free illustrative design and development options for their property that are in keeping with the community's values, please contact City Manager James Smith, Community Development Director John Holden or e-mail REDAC@friendsmidcoast.org.
Community workshops have been held on the following topics:
Workshop #5 with Lynne Seeley, Consultant to GrowSmart Maine
Lynne Seeley presented GrowSmart Maine's research on highway commercial strips in Belfast and Augusta. The workshop also include examples from Standish, Yarmouth and Falmouth as well as other places around the country who are looking at a new vision for their commercial strip area.
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Workshop #4 with Joe Minicozzi of Urban 3LLC.
Joe Minicozzi conducted an analysis of the tax implications of compact development versus strip development in Rockland and suggested ways the strip might become more productive economically for the property owner as well as for the city's tax revenues.
Workshop #3 with Dan Burden of the Walkable and Livable Communities Institute
Dan Burden worked with the community members in a hands-on walk audit of Camden Street. This was followed by community members identifying places along the corridor where improvements could be made to the safety, appearance and road capacity.
Workshop #2 with Friends of Midcoast Maine
Friends of Midcoast Maine worked with community members to develop values statements to guide future growth and development of this part of the city. These values statements were further developed in follow-up public sessions with REDAC. Since this time, the Values Statements and Project goals were unanimously adopted in a Resolution by the Rockland City Council.
Workshop #1 with REDAC
REDAC held a public community workshop to identify what community members liked about the area and what they wanted to see changed.
This project is funded by the members and donors of Friends of Midcoast Maine, the Elmina B Sewall Foundation, the Environmental Funders' Network, the Maine Community Foundation and the Orton Family Foundation and includes support from the Town of Rockport and in-kind time from the City of Rockland staff and volunteers. For more information, contact Jane Lafleur at info@friendsmidcoast.org.
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FMM Kicks Off FMM Community Ambassador Program
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Friends of Midcoast Maine has initiated a new Community Ambassador Progr am in an effort to be more in touch with the 55+ communities that make up Midcoast Maine. In early February, representatives from Midcoast communities were invited to a breakfast at Graffam's Harborside Restaurant in Camden to discuss issues of importance in each community as well as to learn an insider's view of Friends of Midcoast Maine and its work in the region. Twenty five people attended representing 15 towns and cities. Invited guests were either members or donors to Friends of Midcoast Maine had a strong interest in and commitment to the environment, land use, and the economic prosperity of our region.
The program began with a complimentary breakfast and a welcome from Friends of Midcoast Maine Board Chairman Steve Ryan, followed by a brief presentation about the Ambassador Program.
As a Friends of Midcoast Maine Ambassador, participants will work  with FMM as a communications partner. They will offer FMM their perspective of their community's challenges and needs, and will gain an informed perspective on Friends of Midcoast Maine programs. Participation in the FMM Ambassador Program consists of two or more meetings annually. Meetings will offer a "behind the scenes" tour of FMM's work. More importantly, FMM wants to hear from Ambassadors about the issues their communities are facing and how it might serve its communities better in the future. The goal is turn "ideas into action" to build stronger, more prosperous communities in the Midcoast.
At the first meeting, participants outlined numerous issues facing their communities and developed several steps for moving forward. Highlighted issues included:
- the impacts of aging on our communities including
 a variety housing, transportation, social and medical needs - budgeting and finance
- transportation needs
- economic development
- new uses for old buildings
- waterfront development
- farmland and sustainable food systems
- improvement civic engagement
- and more....
Common themes included:
- Allocation of public resources
- Planned growth challenges
- Ages-civic engagement
- Housing diversity
- Moving past challenges
- Solid waste
- Transportation
- Healthcare
- Community values in ordinances
The Ambassadors and FMM identified several steps for moving forward including:
- Adding new Ambassadors so that every community has a representative
- Developing an electronic list serve so Ambassadors can stay connected and discuss issues of concern and benefit from each other's experiences and knowledge
- Arranging sub-regional meetings so that smaller groups of communities can meet
- Meeting more frequently that twice a year
- Meeting in June at the Friends of Midcoast Maine Annual Meeting and with a "Community Congress" to jointly address some of the issues facing our towns.
Friends of Midcoast Maine has been working to address these next steps. If anyone would like to serve as a Community Ambassador to FMM, please e-mail Jane Lafleur at info@friendsmidcoast.org.
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Regional Transportation Study Begins
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Friends of Midcoast Maine has been working with the citizens, organizations and the towns and cities of Rockland, Camden, Rockport and Thomaston over the past year and a half to study the need and potential for a regional transportation and transit system. A consultant has been selected and contract signed. Read more here....
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FMM Appointments:
Project for Public Spaces Leadership Council and
GrowSmart Maine Board
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Friends of Midcoast Maine Executive Director Jane Lafleur has been invited by Fred Kent, Director of the Project for Public Spaces in New York City to serve on the Place-Making Leadership Council.
The invitation noted "Inaugurating this Leadership Council is the culmination of 38 years of working on all aspects of Placemaking for communities around the world. We have worked in 43 countries, all 50 states and 3000 projects. The best part of this quite long effort has been working with people like you. There is nothing more fun than building agenda around something that can truly transform a city. The passion you have for your work and the level of expertise and thought you give to your work is of the highest order. We chose to call people like you "Zealous Nuts". To us it is the highest badge of honor anyone can achieve. The goal of the Leadership Council is to build a culture of mutual support amongst the do-ers and deep thinkers at the forefront of the Placemaking movement, creating a community of practice around this important work."
Jane Lafleur noted that this is indeed an honor to be invited to this prestigious council but will be looking at possible funding opportunities to finance her possible participation in Council wor k in Detroit, Stockholm and Miami in the coming year.
Closer to home, Jane Lafleur has joined the GrowSmart Maine Board of Directors for a 3 year term. Jane also served on the GSM Board during its early years from 2003-2006.
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FMM Assists Midcoast Magnet
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Midcoast Magnet held the first meeting of a few dozen local leaders in December 2012 in order to  define a regional brand for the Knox and Waldo County Coastal Mountains region. The goal is to find the common message that will resonate with all so as to "Attract, Connect and Retain" people and jobs in the area.
On Monday, February 25, Friends of Midcoast Maine facilitated a workshop in Camden with a dozen or more local leaders to identify local and regional stakeholders so as to be fully inclusive in the process and to define the common values of the Midcoast region. These value statements will then be tested in the community through on-line surveys and further follow-up and discussion.
A steering committee, drawn from representatives across public and private sectors, will be formed to guide the project as it moves forward. Finally, a commonly held regional brand can be identified that can be used by businesses and organizations to help attract and retain jobs and people.
The initial kick-off meeting was held in Camden and facilitated by Craig Freshley of Good Group Decisions. Participants included representatives from non-profits, local government, local businesses, banking, downtown organizations and the chamber of commerce. That meeting resulted in an identification of some common ideas and messages and a plan to enthusiastically move forward.
Midcoast Magnet board chair Amanda Roberson Austin noted "As we have learned from other communities, this effort is not an easy one and will require ongoing effort well into the future. But, we feel this branding process can play an important role toward strengthening our communities. It will be an incredible opportunity to work in collaboration with many great organizations in the public and private sectors across the region. The brand will be a real economic development component that doesn't just focus on our beautiful mountains and sea but also will encompass the assets of the in-land more rural communities."
Friends of Midcoast Maine Executive Director Jane Lafleur added that "by identifying and focusing on our commonly held values in all our communities, a regional brand can be developed and rooted with confidence". An example of a value statement is "We value the beauty of our natural landscapes
from the rolling hills and farmland to the coastal mountains and seascapes" or "we value our quiet rural village centers and the traditional New England downtowns". By building consensus around these community held values, a brand can be identified, developed and promoted with confidence.
In other parts of the country, regional brands have been used successfully to build the economy. In Roanoke, Virginia, for instance, new businesses have been attracted with a focus on the outdoors and conservation. The Coastal Mountain Region is unique and has the potential to be as easily identifiable as "the Cape" or "the Berkshires". As a result of this project, potential visitors, as well as future and current residents, will have an instant sense of all the region offers and will have access to a comprehensive list of assets unique to the area including trails, historic sites, cultural events and institutions and many others.
This regional branding effort aligns with Midcoast Magnet's efforts to support innovative projects that foster creativity, livability and economic vitality. As a non-profit organization of people dedicated to vibrant culture, entrepreneurship, and social and professional networking, Midcoast Magnet is working to Attract, Connect and Retain people in the Midcoast to strengthen local communities for all people.
This initial phase of the branding work has been funded by the Sewall Foundation of Brunswick. For more information regarding this project, please email info@midcoastmagnet.com.
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| Walkability Video Clips | |
The Walkability Audit in Boothbay Harbor was captured on video. While these are not professional videos, they do contain some interesting pieces of our walk audits that others might find helpful
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 | | Mini-Roundabouts |
 | | Alleys |
 | | Successful Main Streets |
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Please share this e-mail with your friends and colleagues.
Jane Lafleur, Executive Director
Friends of Midcoast Maine
5 Free Street, Camden, Maine 04843
office 207 236-1077
mobile 207 691-0971 |  |
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