WESTBROOK – Organizers say a coalition of Westbrook business and property owners looking to join a statewide downtown revitalization effort has achieved “buy-in” from local merchants and is nearing the final hurdles in the application process.

The coalition, spearheaded by Bill Baker, Westbrook’s assistant city administrator, recently adopted bylaws, chose a three-member executive committee and will now seek candidates for a paid coordinator. The group hopes to become a member of the Maine Development Foundation’s Maine Downtown Network, a model for strengthening downtowns.

In the past, revitalization efforts for downtown Westbrook have fizzled, but Baker and company hope recent traction will continue.

Since it was first announced in February, Baker said the program has gained “buy-in” from local businesspeople who have a vested interest in seeing a revitalized downtown.

“They’ve been actively participating in meetings, and very much responsible for all the results produced,” he said. “There’s been quite a lot of work done, and it’s been done in anticipation of this program. It makes me optimistic in terms of the commitment they’ll bring to actually implement the program once we’re selected.”

Baker added that his eventual hope is that Westbrook’s program turns into the more robust Main Street Maine program.

The coalition, made up of some two-dozen local players who have been meeting monthly, cast votes last week to elect an executive committee: Ed Symbol, owner of Full Court Press; Joe O’Neil, chief operating officer of Portland Pie; and Lee Hews, owner of Current Publishing, which publishes the American Journal. All three have businesses near Vallee Square on Main Street.

If the application to the Maine Development Foundation is successful, the downtown coalition would pay a $1,000 fee to the Augusta-based nonprofit. The fee would entitle the Westbrook coalition to foundation services such as an annual conference, consultants, and training for the coalition’s part-time coordinator.

The Maine Development Foundation administers both the Maine Downtown Network and Main Street Maine programs. The Main Street program, considered the foundation’s core program, utilizes a four-point approach to downtown revitalization developed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which, according to the foundation’s website, is used in 44 states and in more than 2,200 communities.

The foundation’s four-pronged approach includes organization, design, promotion and economic restructuring.

The Maine Development Foundation website describes the Downtown Network program as “ideal for communities in the early stages of downtown revitalization.”

The first major goal for the executive committee is selecting the part-time coordinator. According to Baker, the group is aiming to fund a part-time coordinator at $20,000-$25,000 yearly. The salary will be paid for by the Westbrook Environmental Improvement Corp., the Westbrook Recreation and Conservation Committee and “other non-taxpayer funds,” Baker said. In the coming weeks, the committee will decide what they’re looking for in the coordinator position, and bring a list of candidates to the coalition for a vote.

Baker has said the person selected would have to have “energy and enthusiasm to stay in touch with all the players on a day-to-day basis.” The Westbrook Environmental Improvement Corp. has already committed to supporting the position for two years.

Baker added Wednesday that based on input from the coalition, a process for hiring the coordinator has been readied and an interviewing and hiring committee has been established. The coalition will await word from the Maine Development Foundation before revving up the hiring process.

“We’ve put all the pieces in place, so that once MDF says ‘go,’ we’ll be well ahead of the curve,” he said.

Coalition member James Tranchemontagne, owner of the Frog & Turtle restaurant on Bridge Street, said last week that he plans to apply for the coordinator position.

“For a part-time position it’s pretty involved, but being a resident of Westbrook, and having a business in the downtown, I think I’d be a strong candidate for it,” he said.

Volunteers are key to the beginning stages of a downtown revitalization effort, according to Delilah Poupore, the executive director of Heart of Biddeford, a successful Maine Development Foundation Main Street program in downtown Biddeford.

“Each of those little things you do in the beginning start to create more energy and momentum,” she said, referring to steps such as naming committees.

Poupore said that Biddeford’s program achieved momentum through the “consistent work of the staff and volunteers,” which mobilized interest. She said that subsequent grants awarded to the group allowed the program to grow, creating a downtown master plan.

“That got hundreds of people involved in the conversation, and was essential,” she said.

Chris LaRoche, executive director of Westbrook Housing, which operates a number of buildings in the downtown footprint, said Wednesday that Westbrook has a strong identity, one that can sustain itself without being known as an outlier of Portland, and that a downtown coalition can help create a more robust downtown district.

LaRoche said what he’s seen from the coalition so far is encouraging.

“From the coalition coming together, there is a phenomenal amount of pride and a community with a vested interest, and you don’t get that everywhere,” he said.

Symbol also said last week that the executive committee will be charged with splitting up the coalition into smaller committees that can focus on specific aspects of the initiative.

“We’re going to come together to try to drive the process,” he said, referring to the executive committee. “I have a huge interest in what happens down here, so I’m certainly not going to turn down that opportunity to be a leader in this process.”

Symbol said he sees the biggest hurdle as “satisfying the needs and wants of the entire group,” but believes this coalition can find a consensus.

On Aug. 8, representatives from the Maine Development Foundation will be in Westbrook to do what Symbol describes as an “inventory” in the city’s downtown, looking at what the downtown district has to offer and what its focuses should be.

Baker said Wednesday that the group will meet with members of the coalition, visit merchants along Main Street, and consider the “geographic scope” of what the program should include. The coalition has previously discussed the “footprint” of the downtown area as stretching from Holly’s gas station to Saco Street, but that was recently narrowed to a section of Main Street from Stroudwater to Saco Street.

Baker said the group has discussed expanding the footprint slightly, a decision that will be made with guidance from the Maine Development Foundation. He called the site visit the “final step” of the application process and said the group hopes to have a response from the foundation by early September.

Lorain Francis, a senior program director for the Maine Development Foundation, said Tuesday that the organization’s visit in August will concentrate on the overall application, the downtown footprint, and meeting downtown merchants.

“We want to know where you are in terms of readiness,” she said. “It gives us a chance to get a feel for the community. We’re looking for a real commitment to the program. These are real conversations that will lead to the next steps.”

She said if approved, members of the coalition will be provided in-depth training on the details of the foundation’s model.

According to application details, total project costs would be about $40,000, paid for by mostly grants, donations and other sources.

There are 11 Main Street Maine and 19 Maine Downtown Network communities statewide.

Downtown Westbrook is busy with traffic on Tuesday afternoon looking east on Main Street. A coalition of people with a vested interest in the downtown is looking to launch a Maine Downtown Network, a model for revitalizing downtown districts.  

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