The city of Westbrook has decided to enlist the help of outside experts to help define a strategy for future economic development and city marketing.
The city council approved Monday night a recommendation from the administration to issue requests for proposals from consulting firms to organize an economic development workshop that would take place at the end of October.
The city will ask an outside consulting firm to solicit input from business owners and board members in the community about the direction the city should take in its development strategy.
In a memorandum to the council and Mayor Bruce Chuluda, Westbrook Director of Economic and Community Development Erik Carson stressed the consulting firm would be independent of the city and would conduct one-on-one interviews. He said he thought this would yield more objective and wider ranging suggestions for discussion at the workshop.
According to Carson, the firm will analyze the ideas of 30 to 40 people interviewed and will present their findings at the workshop. The city is hoping having an outside entity involved in the process will help give it an objective perspective on itself.
“(The goal is to discover) how we see ourselves and how do the Greater Portland region and the rest of the state and those outside the state see us,” said Carson. “The purpose is to help us take the next step, figure out where we’ve come in the last year or so (since last year’s economic summit), and talk about where we want to go. And to do that on a one-to-one basis.”
Carson said the scope of the workshop could include an updating of downtown revitalization plans and also a survey of the city’s cultural development. He suggested posting questions on the city’s Web site for residents to add to the discussion.
“I love it, Erik. I think it’s a fantastic idea,” Council President Brendan Rielly said at the city council meeting Monday. “The more that we can do these types of things where we get out and try to find out how we can do a better job with what we’re doing, the better.”
Councilor John O’Hara agreed, saying the city needs to find out how surrounding communities perceive Westbrook. “Are we the sticky old mill town that they still think that we are – and we haven’t been for the last seven years? That stigma may still be there,” he said. “Sometimes, the best thing to do is change your neighbors’ view of yourself. And, therefore, we move forward a lot quicker because these barriers have been broken down.”
The council voted unanimously in favor of sending requests for proposals to consulting firms, which Carson said the city plans to send out this week. The deadline for submitting proposals would be Sept. 21, with a decision coming about a week later. The community workshop is scheduled for Oct. 27.
In other news, the City Council rejected a reluctant proposal by the administration to bring back bulky waste disposal. Chuluda said he was making the recommendation with reservations because he’d rather wait until the city establishes a committee to look into a comprehensive trash and recycling program. The council rejected the recommendation 2-4, with only Rielly and Councilor Michael Foley voting in favor of it.
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