On Wednesday February 7, the Old Town Stakeholders will hear a presentation from Thomas Kittredge, Economic Development Director for the City of Belfast. Kittredge will share information on how that city has weathered the economic challenges of recent years to grow a vibrant downtown and attract people to the Belfast area.

A light dinner will be served at 5:30 p.m. followed by the presentation and time for questions, answers and spirited discussion. Meetings are scheduled to end no later than 8 p.m. so as time allows, a quick update on the work of the committees will conclude the evening.

If you have ideas and energy about what the greater Old Town community can be and ask yourself, “Why not Old Town” plan to join the Old Town Stakeholders. The Stakeholders, as the name implies, is a group of people who work and/or live in the greater Old Town community, have a stake in its future and that recognize the potential that exists for growth and improvement.

It was in that spirit that the Community Stakeholder meetings began in January of 2016. The group of 20 to 30 folks met on four occasions and engaged in a consensus building activity that resulted in identifying the challenging issues of drugs/mental Health, poverty, housing, youth services and community image/pride as issues that impact the community and issues that could be addressed through education as well as thoughtful, patient and persistent action.

Since that time, the Stakeholder group has formed committees to address each of these issues and has had success in educating and addressing these issues.  Such activities as window painting downtown and Santa’s visit during the holiday season, awareness education around drugs and illegal activity related to drug production and sales provided for landlords by the Old Town Police Department, two homes constructed by Habitat for Humanity are the result of efforts by the housing committee along with the City of Old Town City Council and many others.    These are just a few of the outcomes to date with potential for many others with your help.  The end goal is to make Old Town a more sustainable family supportive and healthy community.

If you have questions or plan to attend for the first time,  please contact David Walker at RSU 34 at 827-7171 to RSVP.