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Citizen Committees Shape Bucksport’s Future
Rosen’s Department Store has been part of
Bucksport’s downtown since 1917. |
Bucksport’s town
manager and seven councilors have tens of dozens of partners:
volunteers whose voices are as significant as those of the town’s
paid or elected officials.
With slow and
steady growth in Bucksport’s population, those voices are especially
necessary as the town develops. There are now 5,000 residents in
Bucksport, up from 4,800 about 10 years ago, and up from about 4,300
in 1980.
Of those, there are
about about 150 individuals who lend their time and thoughts to town
committees. And that’s a conservative estimate, said Town Manager
Roger Raymond.
“Our town works
through shared responsibility,” Raymond said.
To those driving
through, Bucksport appears to stretch from the Bucksport-Verona
Bridge over the Penobscot to the International Paper Co. mill at the
far end of Main Street. In between are a few dozen service shops and
retailers.
But Bucksport is
far more than the Main Street landmarks so familiar even to those
who don’t live there, particularly the mill and the Alamo Theatre.
Alive with
businesses, that
Main Street
is actually the town’s single designated “village district.” It
comprises 12 miles.
The rest of
Bucksport lays beyond, about 60 miles of rural roads that head north
toward Bangor and east toward Ellsworth.
Bucksport at one
time had a downtown brimming with businesses. But as people turned
to the big box stores that sprouted in other towns and cities in the
’80s and ’90s, Bucksport’s downtown lost some of its vitality, as
was the case with other downtowns across America.
Which is why the
town hired a consultant six years ago to guide Bucksport’s downtown
back to business. There was a 40 percent vacancy rate in the
downtown’s storefronts. Today, all but one of those buildings are
filled, many with service-oriented businesses.
Of course, a
downtown is never finished. Bucksport reached its
consultant-generated targets a few years ago, and now has moved on
to new projects. No fewer than four new consultants have been
brought in to undertake other proposals that keep Bucksport on the
map of vibrant communities.
Among the town’s
priorities are making additional waterfront improvements; developing
a marketing plan for both downtown and the industrial park;
improving the neighborhood where Routes 1 and 15 intersect; and
preparing plans for general parking improvements and beautification
of the downtown.
But it’s not just
the consultants who are shaping Bucksport’s future. It’s Bucksport’s
own citizens who take their committee appointments very seriously.
“Everyone pitches
in and tries to help in different ways,” Raymond said. “They wanted
their downtown like they used to know it.”
In this town,
sitting on a committee actually means that one’s ideas will get a
listen.
“We have a lot of
people who we have approached to help us make decisions as to what
we should be doing with our downtown and development,” Raymond said.
“That has been the vision of the Town Council.
“They felt that in
order to have the type of community that everyone wanted, we had to
get many people involved.”
The emphasis on
citizen input goes back to the late-’80s. That’s when the issue of
Applied Energy Service’s proposed coal plant coming to town had
citizens divided. For two years, between 1987 and ’88, they battled
before turning the company away.
That led to the
development of the town’s comprehensive plan.
“It was the
conclusion of councilors at that time that folks out there ought to
be more involved, when issues pertained to the town.
“That’s when
committees really began to pop up.”
A large portion of
the town’s volunteers devote themselves to Bucksport’s recreation
program. There is one paid full-time person in charge of the
recreation department.
But the rest are
volunteers. They are the ones who coach, officiate, schedule and
organize all the leagues in Bucksport. There are youth programs for
gymnastics, soccer, basketball, wrestling and even baton twirling.
There is a Little League baseball program and a Pop Warner football
program. That last activity, Raymond points out, is unique to this
part of Maine: Not until last year did Bangor start a Pop Warner
program.
There is also a
range of recreational options for adults—all organized by committee.
That’s because the
town wants to involve everyone.
Noted Raymond:
“That itself encourages participation, because people know they can
make a difference.” |
