LEWISTON – The notions that have guided planning and development decisions for Lewiston are outdated, city officials said Monday.

“Look at some assumptions about Lewiston,” City Administrator Jim Bennett told a group of about 50 gathered in the Montello School cafeteria. “The assumption for years was that it’s a polluted place, and nobody wants to be there. But it’s a lot different today.”

The same can be said about Lewiston’s downtown.

“It was assumed that downtown was focused on Lisbon Street as the spine, and business radiated out,” he said. But Lisbon Street is only part of Lewiston downtown today, with economic development ranging along the river and up and down Main Street.

“What we need to do now is break out of those assumptions, and see what we’ve been missing because of how we’ve contained ourselves,” he said. “Hopefully tonight we can start that process.”

Monday was the kickoff to the city’s strategic planning process. Next, Bennett said councilors discuss a value statement for the city at a December workshop meeting. Some of that will be determined by what people said Monday.

Attendees drew out some of the contrasts within the city, pointing to Lewiston/Auburn’s four colleges and the growth of higher education while they worried about the quality of K-12 education in the city’s public schools. Some worried about substandard housing downtown and graffiti while they praised the community’s strong Franco-American heritage, its support of veterans and its increasing diversity.

“It always feels safe to me,” said Donna Spugnardi of College Street. “I never worry about walking anywhere or locking up. It just feels like a safe community to me.”

But Jim Berube, owner of Graphic Explosion on Main Street, said the city needs to do more to be friendlier to businesses. And it needs leaders who won’t let themselves be intimidated by vocal minorities.

“We need to do what’s best for the community, but that’s hard,” Berube said. “You just have to go to a City Council meeting to see it. Every issue has just enough people supporting it and just enough against it to keep anything positive from ever happening.”

That’s part of what the strategic plan is meant to do, Bennett said.

“You can’t just decide what happens to Mill No. 5,” Bennett said. Councilors are trying to decide whether they should pay to renovate the sawtooth-roofed building at the corner of Main and Lincoln streets or simply tear it down.

“But what you do with that building depends on what you want for the downtown,” Bennett said. “And you can’t decide that until have a solid idea of what you want for the entire city.”

Bennett and staff members will be meeting with area youth groups, downtown development groups, local businesses and community organizations over the next month to get their opinions. The process will also include at least two other public brainstorming sessions.

They’re scheduled to present ideas to city councilors by Jan. 13. The final plan should plot a course for the city, and it should be wrapped up by March 10.