RICHMOND

The town of Richmond and Sen. Seth Goodall, D- Richmond, plan to host a workshop Wednesday focused on downtown revitalization opportunities.

According to an announcement about the workshop, Roxanne Eflin, senior program director of the Maine Development Foundation’s Downtown Center, and two senior advisers with the Downtown Center, will present a summary of how the Main Street Four Point Approach works.

The workshop is scheduled to run from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. upstairs at the Old Goat, 33 Main St., and will conclude with the creation of a list of priority action steps the town can take during the coming year. Business owners and interested community members are encouraged to attend.

In the release, Victoria Boundy, Richmond’s community and business development director, states, “ The town of Richmond, with assistance from the state and private sectors, has invested millions of dollars in improvements to the downtown area over the last several years, in the form of streetscape improvements, building facade improvements and business start-up assistance. Becoming part of the Maine Downtown Network can help us take that next step, organizing our community resources and capitalizing on our strengths to continue to create a lively, energized downtown.”

“ The Maine Downtown Center has a proven track record in helping downtowns and small businesses grow and revitalize, and Bath is a great example,” Goodall said in the release. “It’s about having business owners, community leaders and organizations, as well as town officials, work together to improve our local economy.”

The Maine Downtown Center helps communities by assisting with tools in the areas of organization, design, promotion and economic restructuring.

Boundy said this morning that she has been familiar with the Maine Downtown Network and Main Street program, such as the one in Bath and other communities around the state. Given all the infrastructure work that has been done in Richmond in recent year years — and the new business that have come in during the past several years — she believes there is the critical mass and energy for Richmond to now take the next step.

Boundy emphasized that becoming part of the Maine Downtown Network would be a way for community leaders and business leaders to work together to accomplish the town’s economic development goals. She hopes the workshop will trigger a series of meetings to help the town organize and prepare to apply to become part of the network.

“In the meantime, I want to be organized and create a series of economic development goals and objectives with the idea we will eventually become part of the network and receive some of the important assistance that they can offer,” Boundy said. “There are a lot of projects happening in Richmond and I want to make sure we’re moving forward in an organized way with public input.”

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