Town of Mount Desert Revitalization Committee
Organizational Meeting
September 14, 2010
Future committee meetings:
Sunday, September 26 10:30 am – 12:30pm
Mt. Desert Town Office, Northeast Harbor
Monday, October 11 8:00- 10:00 am
Mt Desert Town Office, Northeast Harbor
Public Meeting for Input to Committee
Thursday, October 7 4:30 to 6 pm
Mt. Desert Town Office, Northeast Harbor
Draft Meeting Notes
Attending were Stephanie Kelly-Reece, Kathy Branch, Ed Lipkin, Lanie Lincoln, Katy Bell, Ham Clark, Durlin Lunt and Ron Beard… Buddy Brown and Kathe McCoy were unable to attend.
After reviewing the purpose proposed by the Summer Residents Association to the Town Selectboard (paraphrased as: The Revitalization Committee will consider and recommend solutions to economic and social issues facing year-round and summer residents of the Town of Mount Desert), members of the committee shared hopes for the outcomes of their work:
• Working on behalf of the whole community of Mount Desert—all the villages (bringing people together)
• Helping improve relationships within the town and the tenor of discussion about issues of concern
• Helping people see the value of mixed uses in villages-- retail, office space and residential uses mixed, to promote year-round community activity and an active life on “Main Street” and in village centers
• Using the process to see where we can make zoning less restrictive in order to free up entrepreneurial creativity, including “value-added” products
• Helping organic, naturally occurring economic and community development, based on the future that people want and the existing assets of the community
• Coming up with something fresh, new ideas for the town to consider
• Increasing the number of year-round full time and part time jobs
• Increasing the number of younger families with school-aged children in Northeast Harbor and other villages
• Demonstrating the value of the Summer Residents Association to work constructively on issues of concern to the year-round community
• Augmenting and supporting the work of ReStore Northeast Harbor
• Doing no harm!
The committee decided to name two co-chairs to help lead the work (Lanie Lincoln and Kathy Branch), working with Ron Beard, of University of Maine Cooperative Extension as facilitator and Durlin Lunt, Town Manager as a resource. The committee will try to make its decisions via consensus, falling back on voting only if consensus can not be reached.
The committee aims to complete its work in roughly six months time, using the following framework:
September and October Solicit, discuss and refine ideas to address economic and social concerns throughout the Town of Mt Desert from year-round and summer residents (including a public session to seek ideas on October 7)
November - January Prioritize ideas and seek public feedback via community survey and other means (including a second public session to get feedback on preliminary recommendations
February and early March Frame and present limited number of final recommendations, based on community input and experience
Lanie shared materials from the ReStore group, including inventories of existing
commercial space in Northeast Harbor
Preliminary brainstormed list of ideas from committee members
• Create more obvious and user-friendly linkages from the marina and harbor of Northeast Harbor to Main Street
• Encourage more retail development, perhaps considering the marina an “anchor”
• Make the town more “user-friendly” for residents of all villages and visitors
• Explore forms of compact development to provide middle-income workforce housing
• Consider special economic activity districts for Northeast Harbor and other villages, with tax incentives to redevelop village centers
• Collaborate with community groups to improve the appearance of villages, improve signs, landscaping
• Look for obvious “best practices” in land use zoning and business development
incentives and adapt them so they fit the town Mount Desert and its villages
• Look for ways for the town and the Chamber of Commerce and Village Improvement Societies to work together to implement priority recommendations
• Follow up the work of this committee with other productive connections between the Summer Residents Association and the Selectboard
• Augment the Island Explorer transportation links between the villages of Mount Desert
• Assure that any proposed solutions help each village retain individual assets and
characteristics
• Explore small business “incubators” to help launch businesses that will provide
year-round and seasonal jobs
Homework:
Committee members will seek ideas from neighbors and colleagues (including those from the ReStore group and those involved in redevelopment of the marina) that identify their preferred future for the Town of Mount Desert and its several villages, and circulate them or bring them to the next committee meeting on September 26,
Durlin will explore the use of Skype (video) or regular conference call for future meetings of the committee
Ron will share a draft list of ground-rules for discussion at the next meeting.
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