LEWISTON – A new community planning effort will try to tap into downtown’s natural leaders.

Members of downtown activist group the Visible Community will launch Project Neighborhood at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 6, at the Acme Social Club, 255 Park St. with coffee, a raffle and small group discussions.

The group hopes to identify people willing to stand up and speak for their neighbors in future planning efforts. The group began canvassing the downtown area this summer looking for volunteers.

“We’ve met some people that really do seem to be active in their neighborhoods, and we’re hoping we can get them to act as block captains,” said Craig Saddlemire, a member of the Visible Community.

The group also hopes to capture people’s ideas in a master plan. Saddlemire said the group hopes that information will be used in future planning efforts.

Members of the Downtown Neighborhood Taskforce began working this summer, designing a new master plan for downtown development. That will look at all factors of downtown life, taking information from residents, landlords, city officials and advocacy groups.

The Visible Community’s effort is different, focusing exclusively on downtown residents and their needs.

“It’s a resident-focused plan, a people’s plan,” Saddlemire said. “Our goal is to find those leaders that are willing to step forward, but also to help inform the city’s own process. We’re not trying to duplicate it, but to add to it.”

The city’s plan will include the area bordered by Adams Avenue and Park, Ash and Bartlett streets. Saddlemire said the Visible Community is focusing on a smaller portion, bordered by Adams Avenue and Park, Pine and Blake streets.

The effort is being paid with a grant from the Presbyterian Committee on Self-Development of People.

“That’s created to fund projects where low-income people are affected, but the low-income people have all of the decision-making,” Saddlemire said. The Visible Community had received the grant before the city formed its neighborhood task force.