A new, somewhat fluid group of interested community members is looking to see what can be done to help improve and revitalize Waldoboro’s village.
The Village Working Group, only recently named, has been meeting once a week since February to exchange goals and ideas, according to Charlotte Davenhill, the owner of the cooperative Tidemark Gallery.
The informal, private, and so far inclusive group is made up largely of businesses and people with an interest in the village, Davenhill said. Using a moderator that rotates weekly, the group is communicating and building ties amongst each other to identify what they have for needs and assets, she said.
“The Village Working Group recognizes [that] if we want the rest of Waldoboro to believe in the village and support the village, we need to show them that we’re serious about it; that we mean business,” Davenhill said.
The group’s goals include beautification, attracting and supporting businesses, and drawing people to the village, she said
Some of the participants so far include representatives for the Medomak River Community Market and The Narrows Tavern, Liz Petruska, Ted Wooster, Josh and Vero Howell, Barbara Boardman, George Seaver, Bob Butler, and Seth Hall, Davenhill said.
Bennett Collins, the proprietor of the soon-to-open restaurant Harvest Moon on Friendship Street and a participant in the working group, said the group is aimed at evaluating the potential of the village area, overcoming its challenges, and capitalizing on its beneficial aspects.
“We all see a lot of potential down here, sort of unrealized potential, and we got together with the idea we should start talking about that potential and see where it goes,” Collins said.
The village area has been protected since Route 1 was relocated, which has stemmed “strip development” from coming to the village area but the distance also pushed the village from travelers’ minds, Collins said. Assets like the historic nature of the village and views of the Medomak River can be promoted to help draw attention to the area, though, he said.
“We’re here because we see a potential to lift Waldoboro’s fortunes a bit and build on what’s already here,” Collins said.
Collins pointed out that three of the six storefronts on the first block of Friendship Street are currently empty – though one is soon to be filled with his new restaurant.
“That is not good by anybody’s measure, and I think, ‘Why?'” Collins said. “We’re in Midcoast Maine. When you tell people where Waldoboro is, you say it’s between Boothbay and Rockland, both of which are thriving places. Why are we so far behind? Why do we have 50 percent of our retail storefronts in the village empty?”
According to Davenhill, the group’s aim is similar to the Waldoboro Business Association, but much more narrowly focused.
“There are different circumstances in different parts of town,” Davenhill said. “It’s a big place, it’s a diverse place, there’s all kinds of things going on here, that’s one of the things that I find attractive about it, but the village itself is small and it has a defining border around it in terms of the zoning … and in terms of planning.”
“It’s an urban situation here. We’re in a teeny-tiny urban environment, but that means that we have interest in common. Our buildings are right smack up against one another,” she said. “We can get together and talk about the streets and the sidewalk and things that are very intimate and close to all of us that we share. It’s a different situation from the whole diversity of the business community of Waldoboro.”
Collins is not worried about duplicating the WBA’s efforts, especially as far as marketing is concerned.
“I feel like the more we can do, the better,” he said.
So far, the action items coming out of the group’s discussions are relatively small scale.
Davenhill has volunteered time and materials to repaint the two “Welcome to Waldoboro” signs from Route 1, which some others participants will help her with.
Another portion of the group, spearheaded by Vero Howell, is working to have flower boxes installed throughout the village. Davenhill was not initially thrilled with the idea, but her eventual response was one she found to be emblematic of the group.
“I think that’s nice, but I wasn’t really excited about it. Something good about this group is somebody has an idea and they really feel strongly about it, probably the rest of us will support it,” she said.
However, looking at putting a flower box on the front of the gallery prompted Davenhill to consider replacing a sagging railing by her steps and to seek out local metal artist Nate Nicholls to commission a replacement.
“All of this is happening because of this conversation that we had sitting around the table about something I didn’t think was very important, but now I think it’s very important,” Davenhill said.
Those interested in participating in the Village Working Group can call Davenhill at 832-5109 to learn about upcoming meetings.
