Waterville Visioning Process

As reported by Amy Calder of the Morning Sentinel:

The public is invited to attend the second phase of a visioning process being undertaken by the city and Colby College to help determine what the downtown will look like in the future, outside the parameters of revitalization occurring now downtown.

The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at The Elm at 21 College Ave., prior to the regularly scheduled City Council meeting at 7 p.m.

The meeting is meant to serve as a public introduction to the second visioning process phase, according to City Manager Steve Daly. The first was several years ago, prior to the downtown revitalization work now in progress.

“In the spirit of keeping the public informed of the project’s progress, this may be the first of many such forums during which public input will be welcomed,” Daly said in a statement issued by the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce.

Officials will discuss the area of downtown to be included in the second phase and describe the elements to be assessed such as parking, housing, retail, business, traffic flow and so forth.

Daly said Saturday in an email that the decision to hold the meeting Tuesday solidified only last Thursday.

“We’re working on becoming consistently transparent so those in the city who are interested can have opportunities to comment,” he said.

The $11.2 million revitalization work currently underway downtown includes transforming Front and Main streets from one-way to two-way and improving landscaping, safety and walkability. As part of the revitalization, Colby and others have invested nearly $200 million in new and rehabilitated buildings. A new hotel and arts center, Colby residential building, offices and retail spaces are just some of the developments that have been undertaken as part of downtown revitalization.

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