Residents at Saturday’s town meeting in Gray approved the use of town money as a match for a grant for the next phase of work on the Clark Block in Gray Village, the first step, officials hope, in a revitalization plan that will spread throughout the Village, making it a more desirable place for residents and visitors alike.

But not everyone is sold on Gray Village’s potential as a business and social center that can entice tourists off Interstate 95. Some feel the town, which will put up $50,000 from a tax increment financing account against the $200,000 Community Development Block Grant, would be better off spending the money elsewhere, while others say it is unlikely the Village can be changed from a traffic-heavy intersection to a pedestrian-friendly draw for shoppers.

Regardless, the work, part of the Village Master Plan approved in 2006, will continue. The most visible portion of the plan’s first phase will start in the next couple of weeks, when workers will uproot the sidewalk in front of the Clark Block, replacing it with a wider, brick walkway while putting utilities underground, all in an effort to return the area to how it looked in the early 20th century.

The project, funded at a cost of $120,000 by a previous grant, should be completed by the end of June, said George Thebarge, Gray’s economic development director. When finished, the new sidewalk, combined with the facade work already done on the three Main Street buildings that make up the Clark Block, will give residents an idea of how the entire village could look one day. Thebarge and other town officials hope that will spur enthusiasm for the Village Plan, and gain support for further work and funding.

“It’s a prominent location and visible to the community,” said Thebarge, explaining why the Clark Block was chosen for the first Village project. “If we were able to turn that block around, that would have a significant impact on the community.”

The next phase of the project, which will be funded through the grant approved last week, includes the creation of additional parking behind the Clark Block, likely in conjunction with Dunkin’ Donuts. The town will try to upgrade and expand the septic capacities as well, and officials hope the state will consider removing the median along Shaker Road that keeps vehicles from turning left into Dunkin’ Donuts.

“This is what downtown revitalization is all about. You need access and you need utilities and you need parking, and all these things are expensive,” said Thebarge.

A new look

Workers and business owners along the Clark Block and around the Village welcomed the news that the sidewalk reconstruction would start soon.

Doug Sharosky, a cook at Goody’s Pizzeria, part of the Clark Block at 3 Main St., said the project would likely push more people into the pizza place, and make it a more comfortable place to eat. Next to the building, the large pine trees, which are damaging the roof, will be removed, opening up that grassy area, which now looks foreboding, he said.

“Look at that corner,” Sharosky said, pointing to the statue across the road. “Now look at this corner. They’ve got to do something.”

Kenny To, who operates P&H Nail Salon in the Clark Block with his wife Wendy, was excited to hear a new sidewalk would soon be in place outside his business. Since he opened nine months ago, he has been trying to build a base of clients, he said. The area does not look very inviting to strangers now, so it has been difficult.

“If it looks beautiful, more clean, more comfortable, maybe that means more customers for me,” said To.

Farther down Main Street, from a spot where he has placed his hot dog cart for the last 18 years, Lonnie Humphrey said the town should take the time, funds and effort needed to improve the area.

“Anything they can do to make it look better, I guess,” he said.

Worth the cost?

At Saturday’s annual town meeting, the article on the grant drew spirited debate on the wisdom of reinventing Gray Village, and of spending any town money at all. Some residents questioned the transparency of the process that led to the Master Village Plan, and wondered why residents were not more involved, though councilors said there were plenty of opportunities for input along the way.

“If you want us to get excited about this, you need to let us share in it,” said Patricia Watson, a resident.

Last year, residents at town meeting approved a match of $55,000 for the $150,000 grant to improve the building facades and sidewalk, taking the funds from the same tax increment financing program used this year.

“It doesn’t seem that much better to me,” said resident Sam Pfiefle. “I don’t think it’s something worth spending money on,” he said.

Though spots from the expanded parking area would be leased to other area businesses, according to the plan, Pfiefle was unconvinced. “Who does that benefit besides Dunkin’ Donuts?”

Another resident, Gary Foster, took to the microphone on several occasions to say that public money, whether from the town or the federal government, should not be used for improvements on private property, which turned him against the plan.

Other residents spoke for the article, and for the Village Plan in general. Tina Martell said the town needs to put money into the center of town in order to encourage commerce in the area.

“You can’t keep cutting. You have to do some investing so business will come,” she said.

The same grant program under discussion was used to great effect in Bridgton, which now has a beautiful downtown area, said Anne Gass.

“That’s a lovely Main Street area now. That really happened because of the investment of the CDBG program, in large part,” she said.

Aiming high

At the town meeting, Pfeifle called Gray Village “a lost cause.” While most residents would not go that far, some, even if they support the revitalization of the area, do wonder if the Village can reach the popularity suggested in the plan.

Tammy McGrath, owner of Touchstone Body Works in the center of Gray Village, said she sees quite a few tourists pass through her shop during the busy summer months, and a few during ski season as well. Gray could certainly stand to have more out-of-towners stop by for a bite and some shopping, and maybe a massage, said McGrath.

But the area, where Routes 202/4, 26/100 and 115 collide in a wide, and sometimes confusing, intersection, faces some challenges, not the least of which is traffic, said McGrath.

“I think the potential is there, but there has to be a transition,” she said.

Also, McGrath said, longtime residents tend to the look at the town differently than newcomers. People who have been around Gray for a while may not get behind an effort to attract more people, she said.

“How do you strike that balance? It’s tricky,” said McGrath.

Kenny Perkins, grabbing a hot dog at Humphrey’s stand, said it is difficult to change the basic character of a town, and wonders whether there is a demand from tourists who want to visit a village-type community away from the coast.

“They are trying to make it like Freeport. Well, there’s no basket shops. There’s no Mangy Moose,” he said, unsure if simple changes to the village would draw those types of businesses.

It may be something of a leap of faith, but the time is right to make that leap, said Councilor Tracy Scheckel, who worked with the Community Economic Development Committee as they pursued the grants. The Village could have a great future, she said. It just takes a populace who is committed and forward-thinking.

“It’s very exciting to see the village become more pedestrian, like it was years ago,” she said. “I can see the potential for tourists to come and stop on the way through here.”

The same questions of potential and demand were present when the process began to revitalize Route 1 in Falmouth, then a line of rundown strip malls, Thebarge said. The same methods being used in Gray were used at that time in Falmouth, he said.

“You go there now, and it is incredibly vibrant,” he said.