|
|
How We Got Here
The experts said that we "lacked vision". Well
they can’t say it any more! Spurred on by constructive suggestions from
the Maine Downtown Center, Gardiner Main Street’s Visioning Taskforce
has done its’ work and is now ready to share it with the public.
By the time you read this, hopefully, you will have had the opportunity
to view the results. Twenty of us started in January with a daylong
visioning session held at Maple Hill Farm. The process was facilitated
by Craig Freshley, former Maine Downtown Center Coordinator, and
resulted in 4 possible Vision Statements. Over the following 8 months,
we consolidated and sharpened these statements, finally narrowing them
down to what we are now presenting to a wider audience for review and
discussion. To make it easier to visualize, we commissioned local
artist Christine Sullivan, Sullivan Design, to transform the vision
into a series of paintings. The artwork was paid for by a grant from
the Gardiner Board of Trade and the City of Gardiner. These images will
appear on promotional literature, our web site, a book titled ?Gardiner
Reflections? soon to be published by Gardiner Public Library, and
displayed in locations in and around downtown where they can be viewed
first hand. Other ideas include postcards, limited edition prints and
most importantly "insert your idea here and let us know about it!"
We know that it’s presumptuous for 20 or so people to dictate where a
Downtown should be going, so we hope that the Vision we have described
has universal appeal. Please let us know what you think?
|
