More than Mother Nature is conspiring against having follow-up meeting(s) of a working group to do brand development.

In doing a search of ways to try brand development other than by meeting face-to-face, Colin Michael, an MBBA Board Member and computer person at FHC, Inc. (also responsible for the MBBA Web Site) suggested the creation of a “Merrymeeting Boards” blog that could be accessed in conjunction with the MBBA Web Site. If you have gotten this far you now know this.

Second, when I contacted Jeff Sneddon of the Midcoast Council for Business Development and Planning and told him about the Jan meeting of Merrymeeting Boards, as well as interest in developing a Merrymeeting Brand, he suggested that an early task include an “asset inventory”.

I’m suggesting we take Jeff Sneddon’s asset inventory idea, try out a Merrymeeting Bay Boards blog approach so that we all can participate? We could do one or two rounds of brainstorming comment and suggestions that all who wish to can contribute, then we can all look at what gets offered and see what we have.

This is a chance to get a lot of stuff out that we all can read and comment on and see what happens. For example
Richmond Selectman Burt Batty let me know that there is a Richmond Waterfront Park and Harbor Committee that is in the process of developing a brochure and that it might be useful in looking at other Merrymeeting Bay communities. I will seek more info about it…

Two things as starters, first a basic definition of “asset”. Second, I found a Richmond focused draft that includes cues and clues to range of perspectives about what Richmond folks involved in community and economic development were using to describe some assets….

As to definition, assets can be described in categories, like economic, environmental, cultural, creative, human, etc. etc and my American Heritage Dictionary offers asset as: “a useful or valuable quality, person, or thing; an advantage or a resource:…”

Second, when I was working with Richmond’s Community and Economic Development Office, a draft was developed for Richmond’s Board for Community and Economic Development to act as a starter for discussion of vision and community sustainability.

Here is what was done to generate a Richmond-focused discussion of vision.

What follows is the whole draft. Some sections from the vision section ended up as Richmond’s description in the Chamber’s guide to area communities. The other sections contain additional references to “assets” and may generate additional thinking, or better yet, more viable alternatives worth exploring….. If our other communities and organizations have some offerings to put in the asset mix, let’s have at it, and thanks, Dave T. .

Draft for Discussion
Richmond Sustainable Development Vision and Community Milestones

Background

Some Maine communities are working to define their community and economic development efforts by looking hard at what they want their community to become, identifying ways to measure progress, and periodically reviewing how they are doing. These reviews provide opportunities to purposefully challenge and/or change direction rather than just living with changes as they may happen. For a community to successfully seek and reach what it wants to become, it must have a sense of its own vision. Here is a DRAFT of what may be said about Richmond in an attempt to draw upon its history, to reflect upon some of the pressures affecting the direction of our community and economic development, and to begin to set out how we want to direct and define our own future.

Vision

Richmond citizens cherish their connection with the land and with their access to water. A distinctive village enhances the largely rural and agricultural nature of the town. The village itself is distinguished by many historic buildings, by riverfront on the Kennebec River, and access to Swan Island and Merrymeeting Bay. Pleasant Pond provides a large residential and recreational community with summer and year round water-related activities.

Citizens value a less complicated life, are concerned with the preservation of their natural environment, and balance business and economic competitiveness with a high level of social cooperation and support for community service. Richmond schools are centers of community focus, attention, and activity for young and old. Churches and other organizations provide a range of additional services as well as essential vitality to community life.

Richmond citizens value their shared history with an important, but diminishing Russian community. Citizens are interested in preserving historical structures as well as natural settings and open space that define not only the village but also the homes which line town roads in increasing density.

As our citizens look ahead to a sustainable future, we see a need to more clearly identify our community’s assets, look closely at what is happening to our natural environment, and restate the values on which our critical choices will be made. We know that we face new challenges in the economic life of our village, the Interstate 95 (now 295) Interchange, our farms and agricultural enterprises, and increasingly scattered locations of commerce. We know we need to diversify and develop our economic base, but not with enterprises that may put our assets at risk. We want to look more closely at how we fulfill our needs without threatening the ability of our children and grandchildren to also meet their needs and continue to define a sustainable future for themselves.

What is sustainable development? Two views; what are yours?

The United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987 defined sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

Thomas Jefferson in 1789: “Then I say the earth belongs to each…generation during its course, fully and in its own right. The second generation receives it clear of the debts and encumbrances, the third of the second, and so on. For if the first could charge it with a debt, then the earth would belong to the dead and not to the living generation. Then no generation can contract debts than may be paid during the course of its own existence.”

Community Milestones
What are community milestones?
The selection of community milestones is an attempt to pick measurable indicators, that when we keep track of them, provides information about how we are doing. They become measures of progress, good or bad, because we try to pick indicators that tell us what is going on in our larger systems. For example, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is used by many to provide a short hand picture of stock market performance.
For Richmond, we are trying to pick and to try out indicators of performance at the community level that will tell us if we are making the kinds of progress that we want. What follows is a discussion draft of what may be used. We need your ideas about them as well as any additions or deletions! Some are not stated measurable terms. If you think the category is important, we need your help defining the indicator! As a starting point these community milestones have been outlined in three categories: Economy, Natural Environment, and Social Services.

•Community Milestones–Economy

Poverty
Percent of households below the poverty level
Jobs
Manufacturing jobs as a percent of all jobs

•Making effective use of natural assets
Quality of Kennebec River water

Number of Kennebec River moorings

Number of boat passenger visits

Quality of water in Pleasant Pond

Utility service water quality

•Roads and multi-modal infrastructure

Percent of roads needing major upgrades

Percent of roads needing repair

Number of rail passenger visits

Availability of rail freight

Percent of roads with acceptable bicycle shoulders

•Telecommunications infrastructure

Availability of high speed data transfer

TV Cable services at digital transmission level

•Village as a service center

Diversity of services available

Vacancy rate of storefronts in village

•Community Milestones–Natural environment

Land

Percent of agricultural land with development rights purchased

Water

Water quality measures: Pleasant Pond and Kennebec River

Riverfront

Facilities accessible to handicapped

Merrymeeting Bay

See Friends of Merrymeeting Bay for milestones

Forest

Town forest milestones

•Community Milestones—Social Services

Health

Percent of deaths that is preventable

Percent of residents with health insurance

Education

Percent of graduates going on to post secondary education

MEA test measures improving

Diversity

Percent of residents for which a social service is not available

Percent of boards, commissions, and committees with gender balance

Democracy

Attendance at Selectmen’s’ meetings increasing

Number of Town Meetings with increasing attendance