Making Headway in Your Community is a rural community development program that helps residents identify what they value most in their town and provides tools to protect and build on these assets. The process; lead by the Maine Downtown Center, a program of the Maine Development Foundation and GrowSmart Maine; funds a series of three public meetings over a period of 6-8 months during which time small projects are funded with a local match to draw attention to good work and improve connection both within the community and across Maine for information and inspiration. This is the final step in Bucksport's journey through the process.

1. Welcome to the Bucksport
Community Celebration
February 3, 2016
Alamo Theatre

2. Thank You
David’s Shortbread and
Williams Pond Lodge B & B

3. Where we began……
Capacity Building
• MHYC sent 5 community
members to different
trainings around the state
including: GrowSmart
Maine Forums and Maine
Downtown Center
Conference
Please Join Us for Movie Night featuring
“Reviving Freedom Mill”
Making Headway in Your Community
Wednesday, October 8th
6-8 pm
A community that shares a distinct vision of the future has the power to conserve beautiful and productive natural
places, enhance downtown, enable rural areas to be productive and prosperous, and save money through efficient
use of existing infrastructure.
GrowSmart Maine and the Maine Downtown Center bring this 30-minute film to Bucksport to encourage conversation
and more for community revitalization.
Nancy Smith, Executive Director of GrowSmart Maine, presented an early version of Making Headway in Your
Community at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the Bucksport Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce. The completed
project, now merged with Maine Downtown Center’s My Green Downtown, will be released at the GrowSmart Maine
Summit 2014, October 21st at the Augusta Civic Center. Come enjoy a terrific film about an amazing mill
restoration and get a sneak peak at this connection to resources and success stories designed to inform and
inspire action in your community.
6:00-6:30 Making Headway in Your Community and My Green Downtown
6:30-7:00 “Reviving Freedom Mill”
7:00-8:00 What is the “crazy gamble” for Bucksport? For your community? What idea inspires you? Join in
discussions about historic buildings, hiking and biking trails, or create your own discussion group.
No cost to register. Concessions will be open to purchase refreshments! REGISTER NOW!
Bucksport Movie Night

4. Presentations

5. Efforts to Save Wilson Hall
Jeff Hammond and Larry Wahl

6. Efforts to Save Wilson Hall Timeline:
• 2010 Town acquires Wilson Hall
• 2011 Repairs made to cover holes in
• 2011 Town shows
Wilson Hall to
potential developers.
No offers submitted

7. • 2012 Repairs made to support sagging porch roof
• 2014 Town Council hears concerns about poor
conditions of Wilson Hall, considers demolition

8. • 2014 Save Wilson Hall fundraising efforts begin.
$4800 has been raised.
• 2015 Town Council rejects demolition and
authorizes stabilization work (material costs paid
with donation funds, labor volunteered).

9. • 2015 Porch roof removed and interior stabilization
work substantially completed.
• 2016 Efforts underway to secure grant funds to
restore the bell tower.

10. Bucksport
Comprehensive Plan Committee
Jef Fitzgerald

11. Bucksport Comprehensive Plan/Bucksport NEXT
• A Comprehensive plan re-do is needed every 10
years. Bucksport’s last plan was 2003.
• 3 or 4 Town Managers ago (early 2012), the
process began and then stopped, began and then
stopped. After a couple of long breaks, the
current group has been meeting monthly since
April 2015.

12. • Partners The Town Council appointed a 16-
member voluntary Committee which nick-named
itself “Bucksport NEXT”. The town hired Tom
Martin, AICP of the Hancock County Planning
Commission as a consultant to help guide the
process with the town staff.

13. • Structure Monthly public meetings on the
second Monday at 5pm in the Jewett School
Conference Room. A second, smaller (optional)
“outreach” meeting is held the following week to
help connect the CPC process with other
interested parties.

14. 2016 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE
AN OVERVIEW OF REQUIRED ELEMENTS
This is a summary of the criteria the state uses to review comprehensive plans
for consistency with the goals and guidelines of the Growth Management Act.
1. Vision Statement
The plan must include a vision statement that summarizes the community’s desired future
community character in terms of economic development, natural and cultural resource
conservation, transportation systems, land use patterns and its role in the region.
2. Public Participation
The plan must include a summary of the public participation process that explains how
information gathered during the public process was used to guide the plan’s vision statement,
analyses, policies and strategies.
3. Regional Coordination
A regional coordination program must be pursued with other communities to manage shared
resources and facilities, including but not limited to lakes, rivers, aquifers, and transportation
facilities. The plan must identify any shared resources and facilities, describe any conflicts with
neighboring communities’ policies and strategies pertaining to shared resources and facilities and
describe how the community will coordinate management of shared resources and facilities.
4. Inventory and Analysis -- Required Topic Areas:
Population and Demographics
Economy
Housing
Transportation
Public Facilities and Services
Recreation
Historic and Archaeological Resources
Water Resources
Marine Resources
Natural Resources
Agricultural and Forest Resources
Existing Land Use
Fiscal Capacity and Capital Investment Plan
Key Regional Issues
5. Goals, Objectives, and Implementation Strategies
The plan must contain the state goal, analyses, condition and trend data, policies, and strategies
for each of the required topic areas. The plan must identify the issues facing the community using
the series of questions for each of the topic areas. These questions get to the heart of the issues a
community must plan for to address the state goals.
6. Future Land Use Plan
The plan must include a Future Land Use Plan that is consistent with the community’s vision and
other policies in the plan to bring together elements that affect land use. The Future Land Use
Plan divides the community into geographical areas identified as either most suitable for growth
or most suitable for rural uses, incorporating areas of critical natural resource, rural and
waterfront areas within the community. The Future Land Use Plan will be the focus of the state
review for consistency with the Act.
7. “Implementation” is not part of the state review criteria, but should not be forgotten. Bucksport
NEXT intends to carry on beyond the planning stages to help see the goals & objectives through.

15. • As of mid-January, we have reviewed 12 of 15
chapters in the “Inventory and Analysis” phase
and have published 5 public opinion polls.

16. • We intend to
complete Phase I in
March, hold a public
hearing and then
work on the Goals &
Objectives phase,
perhaps with “Heart
& Soul”. This leaves
the timeframe
somewhat up in the
air.
• Plan could be done
by the Fall of 2016.

17. .
Bucksport Comprehensive Plan
COMMITTEE MEMBERS/ATTENDEES
October 26, 2015
Name Representing - Interests CPC Status
Mary Jane Bush Health Issues expertise - Planning Board Member Member
Kathy Downes 22 yrs. Town Clerk, life-long citizen, resident of rural area Member
Mark Eastman Real Estate broker, Economic Develop. Comm. member Member
Steve Feite Nuclear Medical prof., GIS, cartography, Planning Bd. Member
Jef Fitzgerald Town Tax Assessor, GIS, Planner, CPC Chair Member
David Grant Real Estate Broker, Marina and Harbor Master experience Member
Chris Johnson Retired Pol-Sci., TV-Radio, Planning Bd, (CPC Secretary) Member
Hans Krichels Kid’s Peace Coord., Great Pond Mt. Trust, photographer Member
Brian MacDonald Brewer Schools Maint. Dept., Outdoor guide, Planning Bd. Member
George McLeod Restaurant owner, RE manager, former pro. planner Member
Diane O’Connell Attorney, practice includes municipal law Member
Michael Ormsby Marine business owner- Former Town Council Member Member
Sandra Robshaw 42 years in retail management. 9 years Chamber of Comm. Member
Valorie Schaffner Many years legal/admin. Assistant, volunteer secretary Member
Byron Vinton Former Town Council and town staff (public safety) Member
Larry Wahl Business owner, RE manager - Downtown revitalization Member
Tom Martin Hancock County Planning Comm. (HCPC) Consultant
James Bradney Healthy Communities Agency Staff
Susan Lessard Interim Town Manager Town Staff
Jeff Hammond Code Officer/Plumbing Inspector, Planning Bd. support Town Staff
Unfilled position Economic Development Director Town Staff
Chris Grindle Resident, I.T. Services Director, MMA student Town Staff
Jeremy Daigle Banking Professional - former Planning Board Member Former
Glenn Findlay Town Council – Retired mill power engineer, BFD Former
Paula Kee Resident Former
P. “Butch” Osborne Plumb/heating business owner Former
Belle Ryder Business/municipal experience, (CPC Chair) Former
Daniel See Real estate appraiser, former PB Former
Bucksport NEXT will
continue after the
Comprehensive
Plan process as long as
it remains useful
during the
implementation phase

18. Bucksport Arts Festival
Laurie Brooks, Citizen Volunteer

19. • Jury is made up of artists: Lyndsey Marston, Laurie Brooks
and Karin Otto from Waterfall Arts
• 2015 Sponsor: Seaboard Federal Credit Union for $2500
• Focus is on fine art and high end craft work
• Coordinated through the Bucksport Area Cultural Society
Bucksport Arts Festival
A juried show that began
in 2015 (the brainchild of
Lyndsey Marston)

20. Co-Chairs for 2016
Lyndsey Marston
and
Laurie Brooks

21. • 20 artists have already
registered since January 1.
• Anticipating 40-50 artists
will participate this year.
2016

22. Main Street Bucksport
Brook Minner

23. Main Street Bucksport Structure
• Main Street Bucksport has been a Main Downtown
Network Community since 2009. When the mill
closed the group really coalesced and a Steering
Committee formed in September 2015.

24. Background of Main Street Bucksport
• The group is meeting at least monthly. By-laws
are being written based on other Main Street orgs
and election of Board and officers will be soon.
The group takes minutes and they use them!
• Steering Committee: Rich Rotella, Economic
Community and Economic Development Director
and Brook Minner, Mark Eastman, Roxanne Jobe,
John Paul LaLonde, Bill Fretz, Daphne Eyerer and
Teri Doty

25. Funding
• Our first fundraiser was the November PK Night
at the Alamo. People were very generous and we
raised a few hundred dollars.

26. • The Town of Bucksport gave Main Street
Bucksport $6500 to plan and support the holiday
pop up shop program. Money went to on-air TV
ads, payment to the landlords for their space and
payment to musicians for their time at the special
shopping event on December 11th.

27. What has been accomplished
• Planning of PK Night and Pop Up Shop Night
• Lots of positive press for
Main Street Bucksport
(newspaper and television)

28. • What’s next
• In Spring/Summer 2016 plan to do another 1 or 2
fundraising events
• Apply for grant funding
• The organization is working on becoming a 501c3
organization
• Long-term goal is to hire a staff person to run the
Main Street Program. This requires a
combination of private and municipal support
that we will continue to work to obtain.

29. Anything else for Main Street Bucksport
• We strongly believe that a vibrant Main Street is one of
the hallmarks of a strong and thriving community. People
want to live in places with exciting downtowns and the
presence of small, independently owned businesses helps
attract new residents and other new businesses.
Bucksport's Main Street already has so much going for it
that many other small towns in Maine do not have...a
movie theatre, a bookstore, restaurants, a pharmacy, a
marina, a gorgeous waterfront, hotels, professional
services (doctors, lawyers, etc.) We want to fill the empty
storefronts and create fun and interesting events that
bring downtown, year-round.

30. Wednesday on Main
Karen Johnson and David Weeda

31. Time Line and Accomplishments
• January 2015 First meeting to discuss as Paula
Kee desires to bring fun, energy and joy to
Bucksport through summer months
• Town of Bucksport granted permission for the
events to take place and provided seed money
• February 2015- Paula is busy booking events and
seeking funding and Karen Johnson is setting up
web site and FaceBook page
• March 2015- Every Wednesday has been filled.
Paula is writing press releases and getting
information into regional events calendars.

32. Timeline Continued
• June 3, 2015 Kick off Event with Frogtown Mountain
Puppeteers at the Alamo Theatre where several other
events have been held.
• David Weeda provides shortbread cookies at every
event through the summer

33. Timeline Continued
• June 24, 2015 Guns n Hoses helped with Food on
Main
• August 26, 2015 Conclusion of the first successful
season with the Mini Buskers Festival

34. 2015 Funding
• Grant from Robert N. Haskell & Gladys M. Stetson
Fund at the Maine Community Foundation
• Sponsors: Bangor Savings Bank & Camden National
Bank
• Bucksport Area Chamber of Commerce provides
resources for logo development, posters and web
presence.

35. What is in Store for 2016?
• 2016 Sponsor: Darlings
• Kick off Scheduled for
June 15, 2016 with the
Frogtown Mountain
Puppeteers

36. Heart & Soul
John Paul LaLonde

37. Background of Community Heart & Soul
• Started by Orton Family Foundation 10 years ago
• Implemented by over a dozen towns including:
Biddeford, Gardiner & Damariscotta
• Bottom Up Approach to hearing from all voices in
one town.
• Based on Principles of: get people involved,
agreeing on community values, doing business
differently

38. Introduction to Bucksport
• A few citizens heard about it at a workshop in
Brunswick over a year ago.
• September 2015 Orton Family Foundation made a
presentation to about 20 people.
• October 2015 Jane Lafleur made a presentation to
Town Council and all Town Council candidates.
• Town Council passed a resolve at Last October
meeting in support of Community Heart & Soul.

40. Currently
• .Jane Lafleur was contracted by Orton Family
Foundation to be the Heart & Soul coach
• Initial Training session for Phase 1 was held
January 9th with 19 participants
• First working meeting held January 20th with 31
participants
• Partners: Town of Bucksport, all citizens of
Bucksport, Orton Family Foundation, Maine
Community Foundation, Bucksport Bay Healthy
Communities Coalition, RSU 25, Bucksport Area
Chamber of Commerce, Main Street Bucksport

41. Structure
• Truly a community driven organization
• One paid staff: Rich Rotella, Bucksport Comm. &
Econ. Development Coordinator
• Orton Family Foundation provides coaching
(Jane Lafleur, ED, Friends of Mid Coast Maine)
• Meeting every 2-3 weeks; Currently 8 sub teams

42. Funding
• Town of Bucksport funding coordinator’s salary
and benefits
• Orton Family Foundation funding Coach and
Technical Assistance
• Grant from Maine Community Foundation
• Applying for additional grants

43. Accomplishments
• Grown from a small initial group to over 40
people in a few months
• Formed 8 sub teams- met and started work plans
• Community Network Analysis started
• Continued recruiting efforts
• Increasing public
awareness
• Networking with other
Community Heart &
Soul Communities

44. www.makingheadway.me

48. Audience Discussion and
Comments

49. Thank you
Nancy Minott
Photo