LEWISTON — City officials are considering a program aimed at making the city more welcoming to the people who live and visit here.

City staff on Tuesday presented the Community Ambassadors Program to the Lewiston City Council. Under the program, uniformed city employees known as community ambassadors would perform a number of public-facing tasks, focusing on cleanliness, hospitality and engagement with vulnerable populations.

Ambassadors would be trained in customer service and conflict resolution, and would be well versed in local ordinances, services and resources. They would “serve as a consistent, visible presence and point of contact,” the presentation said.

The program is part of a larger effort focused on improving the city’s image undertaken by municipal staff since City Manager Bryan Kaenrath was hired last year.

“The city of Lewiston needs to think outside the box to tackle its challenges and reach its goal,” Kaenrath said. 

The program is based on a similar program in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The program there, which covers a city of roughly 200,000 residents, has 17 staff members who work seven days a week focused on hospitality and outreach services in its Business Improvement District.

According to the presentation, the Grand Rapids program, which is run through a contracted service provider, costs about $1.3 million a year.

Joseph Grochmal, special assistant to the city administrator, said the cost and number of people needed for a program in Lewiston, which had a population of roughly 37,000 in the last census, is not yet clear. The city would likely start the program by focusing on Kennedy Park and the surrounding areas. 

Lewiston officials say the goal of the program is to complement the city’s existing services while looking to fill the gap between maintenance, social services and enforcement without involving the police.

That could include activities such as gardening in public spaces, helping to fix broken light poles, or helping members of vulnerable populations connect to services.

The work is part of the effort to make Lewiston a place where people are proud to live, work and visit, Grochmal said.

“We see this as a potential tool in making Lewiston a place where (if) people are having a problem that it’s dealt with, where people can walk down the street and feel like the area around them is clean and happy,” he said. 

Members of the public voiced their support for the program during public comments. Melissa Dunn, a resident who did contract work with the city in the past, said there are organizations across Lewiston that are “rich” with resources and are trained to help, which could contribute to the program.

Christine Holden, a resident from Ward 1, shared her excitement for the project, saying this would “better the Lewiston community and what the city stands for.”

Councilor Joshua Nagine, who represents Ward 1, shared his optimism for the project, calling it “very essential.”

Susan Longchamps, councilor for Ward 2, called the program “well-needed.”

Grochmal said he and Kaenrath plan to take the feedback from Tuesday’s meeting and discuss next steps before coming back to the council with a more thorough plan.

Once put in place, Grochmal said, there’s no doubt residents would warm to the program.

“It’s great that we got so much support from the Lewiston City Council,” Grochmal said. “But it would be better to get people here and excited about this project and delivering results.”