WESTBROOK – A low turnout at the first meeting on a proposed downtown revitalization effort in Westbrook has left some doubts about whether the new initiative has the support it needs to succeed.

After a public meeting Tuesday morning yielded roughly 20 people ranging from downtown business owners to property managers, Bill Baker, the assistant city administrator for business and community relations, challenged those who came to spread the word about the Maine Downtown Network.

Baker said that before he files the official application for the program, which is due in late March, he wants to see considerable “buy-in” from a range of business and property owners, managers and more.

“The attendance today calls that into question a little bit,” he said.

Last month, Baker unveiled a city application to become a Maine Downtown Network, which is a model for revitalizing a downtown by involving a wide array of local players. The nonprofit Maine Development Foundation, based in Augusta, developed the program.

Baker added that city officials went “door to door,” from State Street to Conant Street, with flyers, did roughly 200 mailings, as well as a mass email.

“The most successful downtown network communities have prospered when there is buy-in,” he said. “We need business owners and property owners to be participating and be part of the solution.”

Baker said he began looking at this initiative following comments from downtown business owners, who wanted to explore ways to “breathe some life” into Main Street and the downtown area. After researching past initiatives that never got off the ground, he said, the Maine Downtown Network program looked promising.

“Many of them lacked any sort of outside support and influence like the Maine Development Foundation represents,” he said.

Lorain Francis, a senior program manager for the Maine Development Foundation, provided guests with a presentation and overview of the program, which provided a history of not only the program itself, but also the reasons for why it was established. Francis pointed to the formation of the interstate system, overbuilding and sprawl as major reasons for drawing people away the downtown.

Kelly Day, who works at Walker Memorial Library on Main Street, said she is concerned for maintaining the history of the Westbrook downtown.

Francis said that the foundation’s goal of “economic development within the context of historic preservation” has been successful for many of their programs.

“If we keep our downtowns intact, reuse the buildings and keep them vibrant, our downtowns will remain vibrant, and we have proven that,” she said.

Nationwide, 2,200 downtowns in 45 states participate in a Main Street community or Downtown Network program.

Francis pointed out major trends within the foundation’s programs, such as the need for a “walkable setting,” and emphasis on tourism, arts and culture, which could be major aspects looked at by the potential Westbrook coalition.

She added that a solid volunteer base is also important for a successful program, to which Baker replied that Westbrook has “a little bit of volunteer fatigue. We have 10 percent of the people doing 90 percent of the volunteering.”

Ed Symbol, who owns Full Court Press on Main Street, said during the meeting that this was his “third go-round” in downtown revitalization talks. He said that studies done in the late 1990s and early 2000s, which cost roughly $50,000, resulted in the same recommendations being made now.

“I want the downtown to be revitalized, but I’m very skeptical that it will happen,” he said.

Symbol said that developing properties such as Saccarappa Park, which he sees as the “lynchpin” in all downtown development talks, is something that the city needs to consider moving forward.

“It’s one of the hurdles we have to get over,” he said.

Baker said that through discussions with Sappi Fine Paper, the city could be acquiring up to seven acres of green space along the river. He said that if Saccarappa Park were developed into a five-story commercial structure with businesses and downtown housing, it could bring “critical mass” into the downtown, while riverfront green space could offset that development.

“I personally feel that would be a good tradeoff for the city,” he said. “We’re going to engage people in those discussions.”

Judy Boucher, owner of My Lady’s Tea Room & Boutique on Main Street, said she feels communication could be better, and cited confusion over the time of Tuesday’s meeting as a possible cause for the low attendance.

“The communication is really lacking,” she said. “I spent all day yesterday finding out the time for the meeting today.”

“Information does fall through the cracks, but I think we are working hard to get this information out there,” Baker said.

Baker said that the city would not force the application process if the support for the program just isn’t there. He said that the initiative would succeed only if there is the combination of downtown support, the formation of a downtown coalition and support from the Maine Development Foundation.

“We don’t want to send the message that there was another failed attempt to rally the downtown,” he said. “We will only launch the missile if we feel we have a strong likelihood of success.”

Baker said the next step would be to gather the Westbrook downtown coalition, which would help implement the program, but if he feels that there isn’t enough support for the program, he would look at applying next year.

Francis said that if Westbrook’s application were accepted, the foundation would send a resource team to the city to study the downtown and its needs, which results in a written report.

Francis said the foundation, which only takes on a maximum of two municipalities each year, makes its decision in May.

“You guys might not be ready by the first of May,” she said. “But we’ll keep working with you to get some direction going.”

The foundation has 19 downtown network communities throughout the state.