STRONG – Sixteen people met in Strong’s Foster Memorial Building this week to discuss the town’s participation in a Maine Rural Partners revitalization program called Harness the Wealth.
Along with MRP representatives Mark Hews and Nate Michaud, selectmen, members of the Strong Area Business and Civic Alliance and business owners were present for the 90-minute meeting.
Hews and Michaud outlined the goal of community development through capacity building, discussed the application process and addressed questions and concerns.
Maine Rural Partners is a nonprofit organization that works with the United States Department of Agriculture. Its mission is to connect “communities to the information, models and expertise they need to choose their future,” reads a pamphlet on Harness the Wealth.
The pilot program calls for a two-year trial during which MRP will supply assistance and resources with the goal of helping a community define a vision for its future, draw up a strategic economic plan, promote leadership development with a focus on entrepreneurship within the community’s youth, and create a community investment fund that would help finance the plan.
A community coach, chosen by the town, will work with a volunteer planning group to identify strengths and resources the town can use to promote economic growth while maintaining its identity.
The program is modeled after a rural revitalization initiative in Nebraska called Home Town Competitiveness. However, Hews said Harness the Wealth aims to “come to the community and create a partnership between that community and Maine Rural Partners.”
He said that in an age of decreased state and federal funding, towns like Strong need to search for new ways to be economically self-sufficient. What makes the program unique is its goal of working from within the community to identify sustainable resources for economic growth as opposed to searching for and relying upon outside resources.
Hews recommended Strong apply for the pilot program due to his work with the Strong Area Business and Civic Alliance during the past two years. He helped the alliance with strategic planning, creating mission statements and applying for grant money.
It is the responsibility of the municipal government to apply for the program. The application deadline is Aug. 11, and the selection of pilot communities will be made by Sept. 8.
Before the application can be filled out, selectmen will have to approve a motion to apply for the program. The issue will be addressed at Tuesday’s meeting.
Selectman Chairman Rupert Pratt felt the motion to apply will probably be approved.
“Anything we can do for the town to make things better, I’m for,” he said.
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