Community Links & Information

Here are some links that might be of interest to you if you would like to learn more about beautiful Belfast, the Heart of Coastal Maine.

Belfast Footbridge Receives 2006 Smart Growth Award

June 15, 2006 [Belfast, ME] The Friends of Midcoast Maine honored three projects with a 2006 Smart Growth Award at its Annual Meeting in Belfast, Maine on June 15. The Belfast pedestrian bridge project, the video "Growing Together: Consensus Building, Smart Growth and Community Change" and the Our Town Damariscotta initiative all receive accolades from Friends of Midcoast Maine.

Executive Director Jane Lafleur noted that "these three projects represent very different approaches to building better communities in the Midcoast. We are proud to present these awards to a city and a community group, a video production and a community grassroots initiative."

The preservation and restoration of the former Route One Veterans bridge across the Pasagassawakeag River for pedestrian use is an example of a city, its citizens and a community group "Friends of the Bridge" working together to restore this community asset. The project preserves and reconstructs an historic structure that will allow boats to pass through while promoting pedestrian uses, and connecting the two sides of Belfast. A connecting trail system and spurred economic development will further enhance the use of this bridge and the community. Funded significantly by $2.1 million local taxpayer dollars, the $4 million project will be an asset to the community for generations to come. Tammy Scully of Friends of the Bridge accepted the award on the behalf of the Friends of the Bridge, the City of Belfast and the citizens of Belfast.

The second award was presented to the Muskie School, the New England Environmental Finance Center and Melissa Paly for the production of the video "Growing Together: Consensus Building, Smart Growth and Community Change." This video represents one of the best training tools for local planners and community members in the past decade. It offers an alternative to contentious, divisive decision making that instead builds consensus, strengthens our communities and adds to our quality of life. Accepting the award were Dr. Jack Kartez and Dr. Richard Barringer of the Muskie School of Public Service.

The final award was presented to Eleanor Kinney and Jenny Mayher, founders of Our Town Damariscotta for identifying a potential threat to the small town character and scale of the Damariscotta region; for orchestrating a team of local volunteers and stakeholders to build support for a retail building size cap; for winning extraordinary citizen participation, achieving significant support from hundreds of local citizens and business owners; for emphasizing that big box development on the edge of town would detract from the efficient use of infrastructure, particularly police and fire protection; for underscoring the need to preserve the vitality of the existing historic business district; for arguing for infill and redevelopment of the business corridor laid out in the comprehensive plan; for carrying the campaign to the citizens and governments of surrounding communities and working towards intergovernmental coordination; for dramatizing the need for natural resource protection, given the enormous impact of big box paved area on the Damariscotta River watershed; for raising the consciousness of the community of the need or concerted economic development efforts to bring more and better paying jobs to local residents and for extending the campaign and support to Nobleboro, Newcastle, Edgecomb, Thomaston, and Waldoboro for the first regional effort of this type in the US. Accepting the award were Eleanor Kinney and Jenny Mayher from Our Town Damariscotta.

For more information about these awards or previous awards, visit www.friendsmidcoast.org .