Results from two recent surveys indicate Westbrook is still trying to shrug off a reputation as a “dirty” mill town struggling with drugs and crime. However, the city’s recent surge forward as a community “reinventing” itself, with growing economic activity and new businesses, was also cited.

Now, Bill Baker, Westbrook’s assistant city administrator for business and community relations, said he is using the two surveys as a starting point for a more comprehensive look at what the city can do to bolster its image in Maine and cater to outside business.

For years, Westbrook has struggled with revitalization and a number of studies and efforts that have fell short. The city is now renewing its efforts to let people outside Westbrook know what the community has to offer.

The code enforcement department is also looking at a new compliance policy that they hope can help clean up “problem” properties in Westbrook.

Baker said last week that his biggest takeaway from both surveys is that the general public doesn’t know enough about the amenities that Westbrook offers. The surveys were conducted on the website Survey Monkey.

“How we’re viewed regionally is important, and I think a lot of the things we’re doing are hitting home,” he said, referring to a recent influx of outside businesses relocating to the city.

Most recently, well-known businesses Black Dinah Chocolatiers and Rosen’s Deli (formerly Full Belly Deli) announced they were opening in downtown Westbrook.

The surveys are just a first step, Baker said. Many large companies in Westbrook, such as Idexx Laboratories, employ media and image consultants, which sparked the idea for the city to conduct its own pair of surveys.

The first, an image survey, was taken in November 2014 and released in December. The survey questioned 722 people living between Kittery and Augusta.

“If you want to build an image campaign to change the way people think about Westbrook, you have to know what they think about it,” Baker said last week.

The survey asked respondents a range of questions, including their familiarity with the city, the last time visited, what comes to mind when thinking of Westbrook, and the positive and negative things heard about the city.

While some survey responses shed light on recent positives for the city, including a growing base of restaurants and hosting regional events like Tough Mudder, many responses showed that the general public still views Westbrook as a mill town with a large low-income population and issues with drugs.

One of the respondents, a Westbrook resident, said, “I love Westbrook, but I’m embarrassed to say I live here. People always refer to it as the ‘dirty brook,’ and talk about all the drugs and crime.”

Other respondents were more optimistic, stating that the city has been slowly shedding its reputations – accurate or not.

“Climate has improved in recent years with infrastructure upgrades in the downtown area, but additional steps are needed to encourage further investment and business development,” a respondent said.

Baker said the image survey showed how people aren’t aware of what Westbrook has to offer.

“I think the public generally holds onto the negatives more than the positives,” Baker said.

Baker also said there’s plenty of work left to do to boost public knowledge of Westbrook’s amenities, to make sure those amenities are utilized. He used the underutilized Westbrook Performing Arts Center as an example, as well as paddling opportunities on the Presumpscot River.

“We need to do a better job of reaching people beyond our borders about the (performing arts center) amenity,” he said, adding that “too few people” also know about Husson University’s Southern Maine campus in Westbrook.

A daunting challenge for Baker and Westbrook officials will be filling the void left by Disability RMS, which is vacating the One Riverfront Plaza office building at the end of the year – taking with it 350 employees that utilize downtown businesses and the riverwalk. Baker said he’s working on filling the vacancy with multiple businesses.

When asked what the city could do to improve its image and appeal, some survey respondents suggested “cleaning up the downtown area and parks.”

One respondent said, “Add more lights to the dangerous parts. Make Westbrook more inviting. A place to stay instead of drive through.”

On Monday, the City Council’s Public Safety Committee addressed a visible and lingering issue – deteriorating properties. The panel discussed the potential implementation of what’s known as the International Property Maintenance Code, a more strict measure to push property owners to clean up visible issues.

In a memo, city code enforcement officials said the code “has been implemented in a number of municipalities, where it has been found to strengthen the ability for the town or city to achieve and maintain code compliance.”

Baker said Tuesday that the condition of run-down houses and buildings is “the most common complaint we deal with in the city.”

Mayor Colleen Hilton said Monday that since she’s been in office, eyesore properties have been one of the most persistent complaints she’s fielded.

“There are probably 20 properties I hear about on a regular basis,” she said.

David Finocchietti, a code compliance officer, was recently hired by the city.

Baker said the new code, coupled with “a great and attentive staff, will make a big difference.”

In response to some of the downtown critiques, the city has also looked to the Downtown Westbrook Coalition to boost activity. Baker said both surveys were sent to the coalition, as well as the Westbrook-Gorham Community Chamber.

“They’re tied in to everything we’re doing,” he said about the coalition.

Abigail Cioffi, the coordinator of the coalition, said she believes the survey results “will be extremely helpful in creating a business-friendly community.”

The coalition’s Economic Restructuring Committee, she said, has already discussed many of the comments seen on the surveys.

The business survey, completed last month, sought insight from businesses in and outside Maine, and asked what Westbrook could do to attract and keep business in the city.

Baker said it shows how important customer service and a business-friendly attitude is. He said that includes everything from welcoming City Hall clerks to how phones are answered.

“Everything we do, and how we conduct ourselves sends an important message to businesspeople,” he said. “A lot of those things are coming together to generate the interest and the kind of activity we’re seeing.”

When it was announced last month that the former owners of Full Belly Deli would be opening Rosen’s Deli on Main Street in Westbrook, the building owner, Sasa Cook, said he sees Westbrook as a business-friendly city.

“Westbrook is a great area to invest your dollar,” he said.

Baker said the surveys were just the beginning of their effort, however. The city recently released, on its website, a short promotional video crafted by city media director Tina Radel, highlighting a number of new businesses in Westbrook.

“We’re going to do that regularly,” he said, pointing to a running list of new businesses scrawled on a white board.

Radel, who came up with many of the questions asked in the surveys, said the results confirmed for the city what some common perceptions were.

“Before investing our efforts on what we thought, we needed to find out if we were right,” she said this week.

Radel added that the series of videos she has been putting together, such as the official closing of the bicentennial time capsule Tuesday, is all part of a larger effort to let people know what the city is doing.

At his office last week, Baker showed a number of designs for a city logo. He said the city only spent $100 and received a number of potential designs. A green and blue ‘W’ may be the choice, he said.

“All of it is part of the little steps we’re taking to change the way people think about Westbrook,” he said. “Image is important, but substance is important, too. If you can deliver, people appreciate it.”

Copy the Story Link