WESTBROOK – Downtown revitalization has been a frequent theme among Westbrook city officials and residents for years. In the latest revitalization effort, the city is trying to rally support from business and property owners for a new structured program and downtown coalition.

On Tuesday, Feb. 18, city officials will try to gauge support for the initiative with a public meeting. Officials are inviting business owners, property owners, and property managers to discuss options for the program at the American Legion Hall on Dunn Street at 10 a.m.

The question is: How can this plan succeed where past programs have fizzled?

This time, supporters of the new initiative believe that decades of revitalization talks can finally be pushed forward by adopting a program that provides a more structured approach with support from a state-level foundation that has years of experience, and by employing a coordinator to take charge of the program.

Supporters say past efforts lacked a concrete plan and outside expertise.

Last month, Bill Baker, Westbrook’s assistant city administrator for business and community development, unveiled a city application to become a Maine Downtown Network, which is a model for revitalizing a downtown by involving a wide array of local players. The nonprofit Maine Development Foundation, based in Augusta, developed the program.

Baker and other Westbrook officials see the Maine Development Foundation’s program as a way to organize energy in the city toward a structured set of goals, which they believe have proven to be effective with similar efforts in cities such as Biddeford.

Deliliah Poupore, the executive director of the Heart of Biddeford organization that implements the Maine Development Foundation’s ideals for downtown Biddeford, said Wednesday that she considers Westbrook a “sister city” to Biddeford, given their similar histories.

She said the training offered by the foundation’s Main Street and Downtown Center programs “is based on proven steps for revitalizing communities. It has worked in thousands of communities around the country, so even though you have to put your own spin and creativity on it, you start to see changes.” Poupore said Biddeford has “definitely seen changes.”

“When this option appeared, it seemed like a good opportunity to rally the talk that’s been going on for 20 years around a specific objective,” Baker said last month.

In the late 1990s, a push within the city resulted in a number of projects to promote downtown revitalization, which included a collaborative comprehensive study from a group of planning organizations and a failed attempt to lock down $400,000 in grants toward downtown improvements.

Mark Eyerman, president of Planning Decisions Inc., a South Portland-based research and planning firm that led a 1999 study for Westbrook, said Monday that the Maine Downtown Network program excels because of the structure that is provided by the Maine Development Foundation.

“I would put myself in the category of a ‘believer’ in their approach,” he said.

He said there have been a number of downtown revitalization projects statewide that have not been “comprehensive,” but that the combination of the program’s four-point approach of organization, design, promotion and economic restructuring can “make things happen.”

Eyerman took part in the 1999 study, which listed 10 goals the city should have for its downtown, including making it a center for culture and commerce, enhancing residential neighborhoods, promoting retail, redeveloping key properties such as the Maine Rubber plant, improving the look of storefronts, and changing the downtown’s image.

Shortly after, Westbrook was disqualified from applying for one of the $400,000 Community Development Block grants to be awarded from the state due to utilizing U.S. census data that was not up to date. The grant process required proof that the funds would benefit “low-income” areas.

If the new initiative moves forward, a new Westbrook downtown coalition would pay a $1,000 fee to the Maine Development Foundation, which would help implement the foundation’s model for strengthening downtowns. The fee would entitle the Westbrook coalition to foundation services such as an annual conference, consultants, and training for the coalition’s volunteer coordinator.

Eyerman says it is these resources that make a big difference, as well as the appointment of a volunteer coordinator who is put in charge of the downtown coalition, which would be made up of business and property owners, legislators, city councilors, architectural experts, historic building preservation experts, chamber of commerce representation and more.

“It makes all the difference in the world,” he said. “A city’s economic development director cannot always be focused on the downtown.”

Baker said Tuesday that past efforts didn’t gain momentum because they didn’t establish the organized “support group” and “stewardship” that a Maine Downtown Center can provide.

“Having the combination of a coalition and a coordinator dedicated to the effort will distinguish this from any prior effort,” he said. “What I’ve seen is that there have been a lot of studies, but not many of them have produced action.”

According to application details, total project costs would be roughly $40,000, paid for by mostly grants, donations and other sources.

Eyerman said that having buy-in from local businesses into the cost of the project through donations guarantees more involvement in the process, as business owners become invested in seeing results.

Darryl Wright, an executive at People’s United Bank and treasurer of the Westbrook-Gorham Community Chamber, said Tuesday that he’s seen Westbrook struggle with finding the right approach to downtown revitalization, and believes that the Downtown Network program can change that.

“There’s a lot of energy and business people in the downtown who have been looking at ways to do this,” he said. “We’ve tried many things over the last decade or more to pull something together, but I think this is something more concrete, with assistance from an outside organization.”

Wright added that the staff of the Maine Development Foundation, which administers 19 Maine Downtown Network communities statewide, will bring knowledge of “what has worked” to Westbrook.

Longtime City Councilor John O’Hara, who was on the council during Eyerman’s study in 1999, said Tuesday that downtown revitalization won’t come until there is “critical mass” downtown. He believes that developing key properties downtown into office buildings and loft condos will bring more people downtown, who will stay downtown and utilize other downtown businesses.

“Unfortunately, we haven’t taken many steps in the last few years, so I’m glad that Bill (Baker) is taking the initiative to try to spearhead this through,” he said.

O’Hara said a tough decision for the city going forward will be what to do with Saccarappa Park, which he said is one of the premier lots downtown, and could provide a significant development opportunity for the city, if residents agree with the sentiment.

“Until we put bodies downtown at night, revitalization just isn’t going to come,” he said. “We have some homework to do on the city side.”

Currently, James Tranchemontagne, owner of the Frog & Turtle restaurant downtown, is organizing a “Save Saccarappa Park” campaign, aimed at keeping the park as green space for the city.

Baker said Tuesday that the meeting on Feb. 18 will feature a presentation by a Maine Development Foundation representative, which will cover the foundation’s background, what it can bring to Westbrook, and share examples of success its programs have seen.