While it may be hard to envision walking by the water, enjoying the sun when we’ve been experiencing frigid weather for a few days this past week, I can’t help but think about how great it would be to see our downtowns booming and bustling even more come summertime. It was around this time last year that I had advocated for legislation that would support funding the revitalization of our riverfront communities.

While my bill, unfortunately, did not get passed last year, I have reintroduced it this session. “An Act To Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue for Riverfront Community Development,” will help the district I represent and other towns in Maine by encouraging more foot traffic and appreciation of our natural beauty, which will help boost our small town economies.

This bill would provide funding to develop our riverfront communities in three different ways: economic revitalization, environmental enhancement and community betterment projects. While parts of our community have made significant improvement to what their downtowns look like, we still have a long way to go.

This funding means that our city and town governments could finally afford to create or restore parks, walkways, and other public spaces. We should be encouraging residents and visitors alike to use our outdoor space and take advantage of all the beautiful nature we have to offer. This would also help us renovate declining shorelines in downtown riverfront locations, with the intention to promote outside development on or near these shorelines.

See, a lot of what this bond will do will be beneficial to our community and surrounding neighbors, because it promotes construction projects, which will ultimately lead to more development of the area. This will aid the preservation of its natural beauty and give people a reason to stop by downtown, whether to walk on the river, live in a new property or try a new place to eat.

Towns will be able to hire local construction companies to complete these projects, helping support the businesses of our neighbors and friends. These construction companies will build new spaces that will attract small business owners to open shop and bring new visitors to downtown and our riverfronts.

One of my favorite parts of this bill is the community betterment goal. The projects that this bond would fund have to be supported by public and private entities, as well as the local community. You can’t have one without the other.

Ultimately, the purpose of this bill is to revitalize parts of our downtown that need some extra attention and care, and that would be impossible to do without the support of community members. It just makes sense to make sure we are working towards a better community by including community members as part of the process.

An important part of this plan is to focus on the preservation and enhancement of our natural resources. The money from this bond will also go toward the restoration of our native fisheries and river-based ecosystems.

Goodness knows we could not have all of this economic development without also ensuring its sustainability and taking care of the longevity of our environment.

If this bill passed, riverfront communities around Maine from the Aroostook River to the Saco River would be able to access funding for projects that promote economic development, environmental enhancement and community betterment. If we can boost our economies, contribute to preserving our environment and improve the lives of Maine people, why not try?

— State Sen. Susan Deschambault, D-Biddeford, represents Senate District 32, which includes Alfred, Arundel, Biddeford, Dayton, Kennebunkport and Lyman.