Damariscotta, ME Seeks Consultants for Fall Charrette

For Immediate Release

Damariscotta, ME—In partnership with the Orton Family Foundation and the Friends of Midcoast Maine, the coastal community of Damariscotta, Maine is engaging its citizens in sharing stories to shape a broad town vision that will help direct future growth and change. For the next step in its Heart & Soul Community Planning initiative, Damariscotta has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a consultant team to plan and conduct a town-wide charrette on the community’s vision and goals for future growth.

Beginning in the Winter of 2008, the Damariscotta Planning Advisory Committee (DPAC) conducted one-on-one interviews to gather citizens’ stories and identify the elements that make Damariscotta special—characteristics like proximity to nature and culture, support of locally-owned independent businesses and family-friendly environment. DPAC also hosted a series of Community Conversations (potluck dinners and story circles) and Community Forums that have drawn together diverse groups of citizens to begin identifying common community values, needs and opportunities. DPAC will hold additional gatherings this summer to further engage community members in articulating a community vision.

The charrette, to be held in October, will help refine a draft vision statement, help community members visualize future changes in the Town, and identify ways to make the vision a reality. The consultant team will work with DPAC, which is charged by the Town to oversee the Heart & Soul Community Planning initiative. The charrette will incorporate innovative techniques including CommunityViz, a GIS-based tool that helps people visualize, analyze and communicate about the future of their towns.

Find out more about the charrette and consultant requirements in the full RFP. Completed proposals are due no later than Friday, June 26, 2009.

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The Orton Family Foundation, based in Middlebury, Vermont, and Denver, Colorado, seeks to help small cities and towns discover and describe their heart and soul—the collective attributes that make communities unique—and build on those attributes in planning toward a vibrant, enduring future.

For more information, contact:

Tony Dater, Town Planner
Town of Damariscotta
207.563.5168
planner@damariscottame.com
www.damariscottame.com

John Barstow, Director of Communications
The Orton Family Foundation
P.O. Box 111
Middlebury, VT 05753
802.388.6336
jbarstow@orton.org
www.orton.org