When Derik Goodine heard that Naples was looking for a new town manager, he was more than excited; this was a dream come true. Memories of his childhood summers spent near Long Lake had fostered in him a deep love and respect for the lakeside town.

“When I was a kid growing up, we used to come down for the summers and spend two or three weeks or a month at my grandfathers,” Goodine said, “We used to drive down 302, through sleepy little towns and then bang, Naples. It opened up, there’s the lake, there’s the causeway. If you came through in the evening, there’d just be people everywhere downtown. And you’d wonder, ‘What is going on here?'”

He took the town manager’s job in November, 2004 thrilled by the prospect of working in a town with an active downtown area. But what do with it? Many plans for the causeway had started and abruptly ended in the past. So when Bridget Marston from the Lakes Region Development Council came into his office and proposed a downtown revitalization project for Naples, all he could say was, “You don’t know how happy I am to see you!”

On Thursday, April 14, the LDRC held the first of many downtown revitalization meetings at the Naples Town Office. In attendance were various business owners, residents and of course town manager Derik Goodine. Brett Doney of EnterpriseMaine directed the forum as attendants brainstormed ideas for the future of the causeway and surrounding area. Attendants talked about the need for public bathrooms and parking as well as the traffic problems created by the influx of summer residents and tourists.

Doney emphasized the necessity of “low-hanging fruit”, projects that could be completed easily and give momentum to the plan. Benches so that visitors could sit along the causeway, seasonal events similar to the fishing derby in Windham or a teen center for Naples’ youth were a few suggested. The overall consensus was that they didn’t want Naples to be a “Camden” or an “Old Orchard.” They wanted the town to have its own unique charm, “the Naples experience,” they called it. Though no one could put their finger on exactly what this “experience” was, it was clear everyone had their own vision of it.

Historically, Naples has been known for its steamboat business. Its heyday was back in the late nineteenth century when the Sebago and the Oriental used to grace the waters. These side-wheel steamers would travel from Harrison, down Long Lake through the Naples causeway, through the winding Songo River into Sebago everyday. Likewise, hundreds of passengers would make the voyage up the rivers and lakes to see Naples and visit the Casino Wharf and the restaurants along the causeway. The town was a hub of commerce and trade for sixty years before the railroads became the norm and the steamboat business in effect lost its steam.

Naples today continues to be popular summer destination with a population swelling of over 5,000 people every year. Every Fourth of July, thousands of people crowd the causeway to watch the fireworks over Long Lake. Camps around the lake bring in droves of children to spend their summers on the scenic lakefront. During the remainder of the year however, Naples is a very quiet town. Most of the restaurants and shops close for the winter and only the lake’s wake disturbs the causeway.

One of the ideas proposed in the meeting was the extension of the tourist season. Often, tour buses stop on the causeway during foliage season, but, with no attractions to keep their attention, the leaf-peepers only snap a few photos of the lake and get back on the bus. What the LRDC hopes to accomplish with the project is to get the community involved in the future of Naples. Not once during the meeting did Doney mention his own plans for the town or the causeway. Instead, he acted as mediator and mentor to the attendants and showed them how it is possible to start a grassroots revitalization if the people take a vested interest. Even Goodine refused to comment on what he envisioned for the revitalization.

“I’m not going to say how I would do it because I want to sell a plan that’s everybody’s plan not just mine, that is best for everybody.” Goodine said, “Whether they have an interest in the causeway and 302 or whether they have a true business interest, I think it’s important for everybody to be here. Everybody is affected by the bridge opening, everybody is affected by the tourist crowd and I think we need to be a cohesive group and make sure that, while it works for the businesses, while it works for the tourists, it also works for the natives that might not live anywhere near the causeway itself. I think it’s important that everybody is involved whether they be young, old. It needs to be a well-rounded group, so it becomes a project for the community.”

The Downtown Revitalization Project will continue to meet regularly at the Naples Town Office. Anyone with a interest in the future of Naples or the causeway is invited to attend.

The Naples Causeway’s future is being considered in the lakeside town.

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