We asked. You told us.
More arts, fewer potholes, more entrepreneurs, Lake Auburn development, more job training and an indoor entertainment center anyone? And so much more. A toast to the new year and the future of L-A.
Last month, the Sun Journal asked readers to finish the sentence, “What this city needs is . . .” and we left it wide open.
You could have said “more unicorns” and you would have been right. There were no wrong answers.
You did not, though, want more unicorns. In more than 100 replies via mail, email and Facebook, you said you’d like more business. Lower taxes. More nightlife. More arts. Less trashy talk. A little more listening, and, maybe, a Chipotle.*
* E. coli free, of course.
We also asked six experts how doable those suggestions sound. Some of it, they insist, is about to happen here. (See related story.)
A sample of your replies to “What this city needs . . .”:
To open our ears
“What this town really needs is to listen to our youth. Youth are an underrepresented group. Adults have the tendency to make decisions for them or believe they’re not capable of making decisions for themselves. Our youth tend to be honest, insightful, innovative, and they are our future. It’s critical for us to support and sustain our children to be actively engaged in our community today and in the future.”— Melissa Dunn, Lewiston
Lake Auburn leisure
“A marina and boating/recreation community around Lake Auburn with a robust filtration system so that it would still serve as the city’s water source. The increased revenue and tax value would certainly pay for it and the local economy would benefit. Nice homes and camps on the water would boost the tax base considerably as well.” — Joshua LaBonte, Lewiston
More budding entrepreneurs
“Incubator space collaborating with the local colleges to help promote and foster the ideas of students — that could grow a business and provide jobs locally. As the jobs and income grow, the food places will come. In the meantime, shop and eat local, you may be surprised.” — Tom Davis, Winslow (Lewiston native)
Fewer bumps in the road
What Lewiston needs is to finish paving all the pothole and bump-riddled roads around town. Some are awful to drive on with a busload of school children . . . ” — Don Boucher, Greene (Hudson Bus Lines driver)
Wanted: One renaissance
“With Portland just to the south in the throes of gentrification, there’s a clear opportunity to attract some of that displaced creative spirit to our neck of the woods. The industrial buildings and unused spaces throughout the city are an ideal breeding ground for arts and culture. So what I think this city needs is a renaissance. It needs spaces dedicated to outsider art and music, places for innovative retailers and services, and opportunities for people of all ages to see edgier kinds of art and music. It needs places for artists of all kinds to experience each other’s art and form tighter bonds and support networks.
What made Portland great was the arts culture. These efforts should be spirited along by our municipal government in any way possible. Our community needs to invest in the future, not try to catch up to the past. Embrace weirdness because homogeneity will never make anyone excited about living here.” — Elijah True, Lewiston
More self-confidence
“How about we start with a plan to stop the use of the term ‘The Dirty Lew.’ I think the term is disrespectful to a pretty great community. If we speak positively about ourselves then we project a better image to everyone.” — Kathie Henderson Phillips, Auburn
More big picture
“This city DOES need an Olive Garden! Beyond that, might I suggest ‘expanded consciousness’?! Expanded consciousness is being more aware of the impact our choices have in the world around us, feeling connected to the results our choices put into motion.” — Beth Kimberly Wing, Lewiston
Read my lips . . .
“What Lewiston really needs is LOWER TAXES if it is to grow in a positive way. A good starting point would be a serious dialogue relative to Bates College continuing to remove real estate off the tax rolls and making it tax exempt.” — Ray Simond, Monmouth
First-in-the-state retail
“How about something that doesn’t already exist in Maine like IKEA! This would provide lots of jobs too!” — Lynda Cook, Lewiston
Or maybe not
“Pleeeeeassse . . can we get people to stop thinking retail and restaurants when we ask, ‘what this city needs’? What we need is vocational training programs, like using Green Ladle to teach restaurant cooking and management skills (and) voc ed so we can have great jobs.” — Bob Reed, Lewiston
More arts, more making
“I believe with every fiber in my being that Lewiston needs to create the conditions in which an artisan economy may take root and grow. This city has the perfect infrastructure, location, history and supports to see this take flight and transform our image into THE PLACE where high-end goods are made. The city should attract and find ways to support highly skilled artisans and craftspeople who can produce high-end, exquisite goods in a variety of forms or disciplines to be marketed worldwide via the internet.
Bourgeois Guitars serves as an excellent example of what could happen 10- or 100-fold! ‘Made in Maine’ carries certain associations with quality and integrity. It makes too much sense to ignore that Lewiston can become a widely celebrated and respected center for a robust artisan economy, a place where makers make and sell, and where apprenticeships could flourish and skills expand and fuel real growth for the long term.” — Jody Dube, Lewiston
In a word: Wegmans
“Wegmans is a grocery chain originating in western New York state (where I went to college). Apart from two stores in Massachusetts, it has avoided New England and favored the Mid-Atlantic region, but I personally would love to see them expand in our direction.
It has been a long time since I’ve been there, but friends who still go tell me they’ve only gotten better over the years: a solid combination of good prices, great selection and fantastic stores. There’s nothing wrong with our stores, other than they all feel dated and it is difficult to get everything I want in one stop. I never ran into that problem at Wegmans.” — Chris Blake, Auburn
Make them want you
“More restaurants will not draw people from Portland or Augusta. We need to support things like a children’s museum, ecotourism and truly unique venues. Once we raise this city’s image, the restaurants will be knocking down our doors to be here, as will the retail stores! We need to focus on what will draw people to this city.” — Drew Desjardins, Lewiston
More artisanal everything
“A Trader Joe’s, yummy local organic Mexican food, an upscale bowling alley with delicious food. Walkable businesses in downtown with more parking. An integrated retirement home/day care where older folks can spend time with little ones. Another local coffee shop option besides Forage and beautifully renovated mill townhouses for purchase. We need to keep working young professionals and college kids in this area.” — Vanessa DeWitt, Lewiston
Come on down
“We need some chains, like Target, Trader Joe’s, Chipotle, Old Navy — look at all the unused space in the Lewiston Mall and Promenade Mall. It would be amazing to have more options for toys and books. We have a great art community downtown, so we need people to COME downtown.” — Courtney MacMunn Schlachter, Lewiston
More nightlife
“What Lewiston (and Auburn) really need is a nightlife within the cities. Something that is similar to Portland’s Old Port where individuals can walk a short distance to another venue. Everyone I know is always talking about having to go to Portland; it would be nice to have that here. Another would be a concert venue similar to the State Theater.” — Michael Hobbs, Lewiston
Bring on the waterfront
“This city needs to utilize its greatest asset, the river, and embrace Lincoln Street (instead of Lisbon street) as the gateway to the city by continuing to tear down dilapidated buildings and creating an environment similar to that of the Portland and Bangor waterfronts.
I would start with Bates Mill 5 and Simard Payne Park, which both have the most potential as of now. Then branch out onto Lincoln street and create a scene that will attract L/A’s most important target population, and that is young people like myself. We would love to see a riverfront scene that includes some bars, pubs, restaurants and businesses that are in walking distance. But in order to do this, we must make Lewiston more business and tax friendly which starts at the government level.” — Cam Marcotte, Orono (Lewiston native)
Indoor mini-golf, anyone?
“What this town really needs to give life to the place is to have a closed mill transformed into an entertainment center year-round. With this town being a college town and outsiders often coming to visit students, they need a place for entertainment and thus have them spend their money here instead of at casinos or elsewhere.” — Gabrielle Demoras, Lewiston
More food, more rec
“For restaurants, my wish list would include Chipotle or Qdoba and some sort of gourmet burger place (preferably NOT a chain). Would like to see Whole Foods. Need some stores to fill up the mall. Anything to get people to shop there instead of driving to Portland or Augusta. Recreation? Would be really nice to see the new Y open. Two or three weekend events like the balloon festival to draw people to the area.” — Beryle Martin, Auburn
Bring on the wonderful
“The city needs any and all of these wonderful ideas. It will create jobs and stimulate the economy. But please don’t forget that our children are our greatest investment. They need safe places for art, music, sports, classes, etc. The Twin Cities’ future is in our children.” — Brooke Morin Lachance, Auburn
Some answers were edited for length or clarity.
kskelton@sunjournal.com
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