WESTBROOK – Bill Baker certainly made an impression on Westbrook as its police chief from 2007-2011, and many people will remember a fundraising stunt in November 2007, when he paddled in a raft down the Presumpscot River.

While he is not sure if he will be trying that again soon, as Westbrook’s new director of business and community relations/assistant city manager, Baker said the river is just one unexplored avenue to future development, especially in the downtown area.

“There are certain ways to take advantage of that resource,” he said.

In a one-on-one interview this week, Baker, 57, who was appointed to the job July 25, outlined his preliminary plans for helping the business community grow and expand in Westbrook. He also addressed concerns about whether he would easily make a transition into the new municipal position, given his extensive background in law enforcement.

In time, Baker said, he hopes to build on existing relationships with both major corporations and small businesses, in order to help maintain the existing business community in the city.

“I don’t think we can underestimate the value of our existing large employers like Idexx and Disability RMS, to name two, and the positive impact they have on a community like ours,” he said.

Baker added that family-owned businesses like Smiling Hill Farm and Hillside Lumber, along with local institutions like the Frog and Turtle and Casa Novello, are a key part of Westbrook’s commercial district.

Baker said he wants to reach out to locations outside of Westbrook, such as the Portland Jetport and bus stations, to use them to market the city to business owners outside the city. He also said he would like to enlist the help of large businesses inside the city, such as Cinemagic on County Road, to help market the city to crowds that come in from out of town.

“Enhancing Westbrook’s image as a place to live, work and play is a primary goal of mine,” he said.

As to the downtown, Baker said he understood the need to build it up further, with more small, shopper-friendly businesses, but he would be happy to have a few non-retail businesses, such as law firms, move in, as well.

“I think it helps to have other stabilizing influences in the downtown,” he said. “I think it makes sense to have a mix.”

Baker, who begins his new assignment Aug. 13, also addressed some who have expressed concern that a man who has spent much of his professional career in law enforcement can switch gears to this new position. Policing, he said, is not done in a vacuum. Fighting crime is dependent upon maintaining good, ongoing relationships with the community at large, including local businesses, he said.

Also, crime prevention is closely linked to studying the local economy, which Baker has done for years.

“I’ve spent a long time in public life,” he said.

Mayor Colleen Hilton, in addressing those same critics, acknowledged that Baker’s appointment probably came as a surprise to some, but his background in public service, both in law enforcement and as a past selectman in his native Southborough, Mass., make it easy to see why he was the best man for the job.

“Anyone who knows Bill Baker and knows his background will know,” she said.

Hilton also stressed that Baker’s appointment came only after a lengthy interview process.

“It’s an important decision in Westbrook, one that we put a lot of time and effort into,” she said.

Baker is known for a strong leadership style, but, he said, that won’t hinder him from working well under City Administrator Jerre Bryant and Hilton.

“I hold both the mayor and the administrator in very high regard,” he said.

As to whether it would be an adjustment to being what he called a “No. 2” man, Baker said it won’t be a problem.

“Nobody is a better No. 2 than a former No. 1, because you know what the No. 1 is up against,” he said.

Baker said he looks forward to serving the people yet again, and he expects to build on all the relationship he already has with the public.

“I don’t think it’s going to be tough at all,” he said. “I know this city. I know its people.”

Bill Baker, the city’s former police chief, now holds the lengthy title of Westbrook’s director of business and community relations/assistant city manager.