SANFORD, Maine — Once home to a thriving mill, the city of Sanford is now in need of a new label. There's a grass-roots group of community members on a mission to determine what that is, and they want to revitalize the downtown at the same time.
Friends of Downtown, Sanford started meeting about two years ago and is made up of people who live in the area and are passionate about bringing the downtown back to life. Recently, the group applied for a $10,000 seed grant from the nationwide Community Heart & Soul initiative to try to determine what residents like about where they live, what they want for the future, and how they believe that can be achieved.
"We want to hear from everyone in the community," Mary Hastings, the small business advocate for the Sanford Regional Economic Growth Council, said. "We want them to let us know what they love about their community, what's the history they want to keep, and where do they want to go in the future."
Hastings said the Community Heart & Soul process is divided into five parts:
- Establishing home pride and confidence
- Watching volunteerism increase
- Helping local officials gain a better understanding of what matters to residents
- Increasing investment in the city or town
- Giving residents space to honor the importance of history and culture
"There are a lot of big initiatives that are happening that the city has made investments in and that are coming up, and we want to make sure that we're going in the right direction," Hastings said.
Sanford is the 15th Maine municipality to become a Community Heart & Soul city or town. These municipalities exist from Maine to Florida to Texas to Washington state. Hastings said here in Maine, the work has been really successful in other communities.
"Some of those communities made [feedback] actually a part of their comprehensive plan, which is huge," Hastings said.
To get that feedback, volunteers are going out into the community for what Hastings calls "story-gathering" sessions. Essentially, they ask people who either live in or visit Sanford what they like about the area and what they would like to see change. Those answers will then be complied into a document and given to city leaders.
Lee Burnett, a former journalist and board member of Friends of Downtown, Sanford, is one of the volunteers conducting interviews.
"It's like making whiskey," Burnett said. "You have to start with a lot of mash. Then you distill it down and extract it and get the essence. That's what we're doing. We're getting to the heart and soul of Sanford."
Burnett said so far, he has heard that community members like the small-town feel of the city. He said people seem to want the revitalization of the mills and empty storefronts and more shopping opportunities.
"What kind of a town are we?" Burnett said. "We're not a mill town anymore. The mills left a long time ago. We used to have a cute downtown. That got torn down."
Laura Bell, the new owner of Moe's Italian Sandwiches in the downtown area, said she's excited to see the results of this project a few years down the line.
"I think it's important to keep everything in front of mind and to move while the world is moving," Bell said, later adding, "I mean, it can only help us if we're getting more foot traffic in here."
"We're going to design a future that the residents can buy into," Hastings said.
You can learn more about the Community Heart and Soul cities and towns nationwide here.