Camden Newsletter - February 15, 2013

The Jewel of the Coast...Camden, Maine

Where the Mountains Meet the Sea!

February 15, 2013

A new ATM in the River Business District

Camden's vibrant downtown is more than just the shops along Elm and Main Streets. While the businesses along that main artery are fantastic, there are many other amazing businesses along Bay View, Mechanic, and Washington Streets. Recently, the Bagel Café had an ATM installed in their business. Patrons will now be able to more easily obtain cash as the owners, Bruce and Julie Ottomano, determined that allowing debit/credit cards was not feasible given their business model. While this ATM is located inside the Bagel Cafe, it is not limited to only their customers. Feel free to stop by and conveniently withdraw cash before shopping in this section of Camden's downtown.

The countdown is on...Vote for Camden!

Voting ends tonight, Friday February 15th. Have you been voting every day? As with many contests, this one encourages daily voting. There's still time. Let's keep Camden in the top 10 Coolest Small Towns in the US. We're the only town from Maine and New England! So join many others by casting your vote for Camden!

Here's a list of businesses, organizations, and news outlets already providing support and coverage. A big thank you for your efforts!

Lord Camden Inn WCSH 6 WMME - 92 Moose

Grand Harbor Inn Loo Hoo GrowSmart Maine

Fresh Restaurant Renys Inns at Blackberry Commons

Down East Magazine WLBZ 2 Maine Eastern Railroad

Rockland Main Street Village Soup WJBQ - Q97.9 Portland

Free Press Online WVII ABC 7 Legacy Properties/Sotheby's

Wicked Whoopies Travel Maine Nancy Marshall Communications

The Smiling Cow Pen Bay Pilot Jaret & Cohn agents

Camden Premier Inns Rep Joan Welsh Camden Public Library

Our Town Belfast Once A Tree Maine Media Workshops

WABI Channel 5 Fromviandoux Schooner Nathaniel Bowditch

Samoset Resort Sun Journal Camden Harbour Inn

Camden Opera House Camden International Film Festival

Penobscot Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce

Graffam Brothers Harborside Restaurant

Hartstone Inn

Affordable housing in Camden

Are you familiar with the Lupine Terrace development in Camden? This is an effort fueled by the Camden Affordable Housing Committee and Camden Affordable Housing Organization (CAHO) to provide affordable/workforce housing opportunities in our community and to attract young families to the area. With assistance from the Maine Department of Economic & Community Development (DECD), funds are available to subsidize new home construction for those individuals and households whose income levels are up to the amounts shown below. To date, 6 houses have been funded through the partnership of the Town of Camden, CAHC, CAHO, and the Maine DECD. To learn more about this program, send an email or call 207-230-2089.

Household Size Maximum Household Income

1 person $32,200

2 people $36,800

3 people $41,400

4 people $46,000

Downtown Network Community - volunteers wanted!

Camden was designated as a Downtown Network Community in May 2012 by the Maine Downtown Center, through a competitive application process. This is a program guided by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It is built on the Main Street Four Point approach of Organization, Promotion, Design, and Economic Restructuring.

The Camden Select Board authorized the formation of a Downtown Network Board in June 2012 and the Board has been meeting regularly to better understand the next steps in the process of maintaining Camden's Downtown Network Community designation. The next step is to form a Promotions Committee which is described as "creating programs that market your downtown to potential and existing customers, producing special events and festivals, and promulgating a positive image of downtown. Promotion brings people downtown by helping to attract visitors, shoppers, and investors."

Does this sound like you? Are you interested in helping to design new events but also work with existing efforts to identify opportunities for improvement? We'd like to hear from you. Send us an email to let us know if interested!

Camden in the News

Have you noticed the press we've been getting lately? There's been a lot of it. We've been adding some to each of the recent newsletters. Check out a few of the more in-depth stories which have appeared lately.

Bangor Metro feature story

Boston's Chronicle TV show (4 segments)

Sun Journal weekend edition (1 1/2 page cover story, Section B)

But these aren't the only ones. We'll start building a collection of these and soon make them available on the Town's website...stay tuned! A special thank you to Bernice Berger at Once A Tree for referring Boston's WCVB Chronicle TV show crew to my office!

Did you know?

Regional Loan Program now serving Camden

For purposes of regional economic development, Maine has 7 Economic Development Districts (EDDs) which are formed, in part, through assistance from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA). Camden belongs to the MidCoast Economic Development District (MCEDD). Earlier this year, the Board of Directors voted to extend the current jurisdiction of an existing regional loan program to this section of the midcoast area. Camden now has access to these loan funds for purposes of business attraction, expansion, and retention. Read more about the loan program by visiting the Camden Development Office's web page or contacting Brian Hodges.

Contact:

Brian S. Hodges, Development Director, Town of Camden
29 Elm Street, Camden, ME 04843 | 207-236-3353
bhodges@camdenmaine.gov