STREETS, PLACES and PEOPLE - Session #1

On Day 1, faculty included Carol Taylor from the Maine Development Foundation who lead the leadership component. Joel Mills, from the American Institute for Architect's Communities by Design program, addressed building and maintaining momentum for community work.  Gary Toth from Project for Public Spaces talked about Place-Making and David Nelson, also from PPS, discussed "lighter, quicker, cheaper" ways to achieve quality places in our communities. 

On Day 2, participants tackled a hands-on, place-building exercise on the Camden Town Landing. This temporary demonstration project allowed the participants to practice what they learned in a real-life place. The temporary pop-up park was assembled and disassembled in 4 hours, leaving many to wish it remained longer so that the community could enjoy it. Of note, was the many people who noted they felt safe in the space and had never noticed the stunning views of Mt Battie and Mt Megunticook from the lot.

The pop-up park used 14 parking spaces and one motorcycle space for 4 hours and demonstrated the value of the class, the importance of being flexible, and the value of being creative. While using 14 parking spaces in a typically busy lot, no car drivers were unable to find a space during this off-season time, and in fact, many of the downtown business employees and owners parked for the full day without disruption.

 Participants noted the value of the exercise and the class time to them professionally and personally, including how some of the ideas might apply to their own community. Participants were from Camden, Rockport, Bangor, Boothbay Harbor, Lewiston, Augusta, Damariscotta, Belfast, New Gloucester, Edgecomb, and Gardiner, to name a few.

Dozens of Midcoast businesses, organizations and individuals contributed to the 2 day workshop, totaling over $12,000 in donated goods, services and materials. These included:

• Town of Camden for meeting rooms and parking lot project space

• Camden Opera House for meeting rooms

• River House Hotel for faculty hotel rooms

• Lord Camden Inn for faculty hotel rooms

• Penobscot Bay Chamber of Commerce for staging space and electricity

• Maine Association of Planners for financial sponsorship

• French and Brawn for food and food delivery

• Francine Bistro, Seabright Pizza, and Brian Hill for Café tables and chairs

• Plants Unlimited for donated plants and trees

• Dr Douglas and Patricia Cole, Mike Tomko and Robin and Dick Mayer for pick-up trucks

• Steve Ryan for 4 planters

• Lafleur family for table, umbrella and chairs, chalk boards, and labor

• Hope Orchards for wooden apple crates and apples

• Aldermere Farms for 20 haybales, pick-up and delivery

• Mike and Martha Tomko for wooden seagulls and mermaids

• FMM Board members

• Anonymous donors for scholarship donations

• Maine Development Foundation for staff time

• American Institute for Architects for staff time

• Project for Public Spaces for staff time

• Friends of Midcoast Maine for staff time 

In advance of the session, permission and input was received from the Camden Select Board, the Planning Board, the Harbor Committee, the Downtown Network Board, and the Camden Economic Development Advisory Committee.

The team plans for Day 2

A final report summarizing the process and the outcomes will be available soon and posted to the Friends of Midcoast Maine and The Community Institute websites.

Temporary art work

A happy visitor to the pop-up park

Check out the press coverage here.

Before the white stuff, there was an emphasis on the green stuff

Watch our website for information about The Community Institute's Session #2: Multi-generational communities and Aging in Place in February 2015.  This session will be in collaboration with GrowSmart Maine, Coastal Enterprises, AARP, and Spectrum Generations.  It will be held in Lincoln County. 

Imagining Trust - The Juice Conference 4.0

We all rely on other people, every day, to get our own work done, and in the bigger picture, to make a difference in our communities. At the heart of this reliance is trust.  In order to enable risk, we need to foster and encourage trust. Our current economic era is not the time to hunker down and play it safe.  Juice is a conference designed to generate energy, to be a conductor for ideas and action.  Juice connects people and ideas to the creative economy to spark growth and prosperity. Whether you're an arts leader, entrepreneur, community developer, industry leader, or policy maker, we invite you to Juice to connect, collaborate and create opportunities for economic expansion. 

Friends of Midcoast Maine staff Jane Lafleur will be serving on the panel "Collaboration as a Tool to Success". Register for Juice 4.0 today!   

Building Livable Communities - The Mayors Innovation Project

FMM Executive Director has been invited to speak at the Mayors Innovation Project in Burlington Vermont, in early December.

Co-hosted by the City of Burlington and AARP, Mayors and other officials from New England and New York State communities have addressed regional challenges and forged innovative approaches to creating great places to live that sustain economic growth and improve the quality of life for residents - of all ages. 

This is a critical issue for the region - the demographics of our communities are changing, as is what our citizens expect of us. There is a growing demand for walkable streets, public transit, and vibrant downtowns - and our constituents want to be a part of envisioning them.

Topics include:

• Planning and Implementing Livable Communities
• Strategies for Funding Livable Communities Initiatives
• Engaging Constituents, Volunteers, and Public-Private Partnerships

Visit Mayors Innovation Project for more information.