The Naples downtown revitalization group had its third business meeting at noon on Friday, Oct. 14 at the Naples Town Offices with a strong turn out of about two dozen. The group reviewed their progress so far and agreed on three primary guidelines:

• Downtown revitalization for Naples involves the entire downtown, not just working to influence the design of the Causeway bridge project.

• The “downtown” of Naples extends well beyond the Causeway in all directions.

• The keys to success are widespread community participation, setting incremental goals and building on short-term successes.

As the first order of business, the group voted to adopt the name of Naples Main Street as the name for this downtown revitalization effort. Next, the group organized itself into three task groups (with a convener for each) to begin defining the work of the organization:

1. The Organization Task Group will recruit candidates to chair Naples Main Street and coordinate the efforts of the other task groups, Convener: Ann Marie Swenson (892-5012 or aswenson@mainebank.com)

2. The Design Task Group will focus on design aspects of downtown revitalization, including public spaces, historic preservation/education, faA?§ade programs, etc. Convener: Merry Watson (693-6879).

3. The Promotion Task Group will work on promoting Naples, creating public events, coordinating retail promotions and the like. Convener: Keith Nuebert (693-6226 info@innatlonglake.com).

The convener of each group will be setting a first meeting date/time for their group and reporting back to the next Naples Main Street meeting at noon on Friday, Nov. 18 at the Naples Town Offices. Any Naples resident or business person who is interested in joining one of the groups is encouraged to contact a task group convener or John Shattuck (Lakes Region Development Council, 743-8830 or John@EnterpriseMaine.com).

Downtown revitalization has had a very positive impact on a number of Maine communities in recent years. Anyone who was familiar with Bath, Gardiner, Norway and Waterville a few years ago can attest to the huge improvements in their downtowns today. They are more attractive, more people-friendly and have more vibrant business communities. With its unique location and historic buildings, and with the cooperative efforts of residents, businesses and town government, Naples can become an exceptional example of successful downtown revitalization. Please join Naples Main Street in making it happen!

John Shattuck,

Director, Lakes Region Development Council