The Walkability Steering committee, Market Boothbay and Community Trails Partnership groups are all currently working on projects to beautiful and improve the Boothbay region. This past week, the three groups all discussed working together and combining aspects of their projects to better take advantage of the time and resources available.

The Community Trails Partnership met Thursday, Jan. 23. They discussed possible fundraisers for the Route 27 Sidewalk Project, which is scheduled to take place in 2015. This project is the construction of a 4,905-foot sidewalk extending from the YMCA through Boothbay center and to to Clifford Playground. Many people currently walk along the road, and the new sidewalk will create a safe zone for pedestrians.

The groups also discussed preserving local trails and areas that have been accessible to locals, such as Indian Trail. The group discussed the planned project by Market Boothbay, headed by Alan Bebout, which involves planting trees alongside Route 27. The group liked the idea, and wanted to make sure the tree and sidewalk projects wouldn't clash.

“Where the sidewalk is being put in, there are mere inches to work with, not feet,” said Catherine Wygant Fossett, executive director of the Boothbay Harbor Region Chamber of Commerce. “We need to make sure the projects work together.”

Boothbay Town Manager Jim Chaousis also mentioned the timing of the projects. “If they put the trees in this year, they will probably be destroyed next year when the sidewalk goes in. We don't want that.”

Eighty percent of the Route 27 Sidewalk Plan is being funded by the Maine Department of Transportation, which equals $498,565. The remaining $124,641 burden has been split among four groups: the Boothbay Region YMCA (43.47 percent), the Community Trails Partnership (27.84 percent), and the towns of Boothbay (8.58 percent) and Boothbay Harbor (20.11 percent).

The Community Trails group has discussed approaching local corporate sponsors such as Rite Aid, Hannaford and Family Dollar to support the project.

The Walkability Steering Committee met on Monday, Jan. 27 to discuss the results of the Boothbay Peninsula Regional Values and Branding Project survey.

The group received 150 responses to the survey, which was open from November 13, 2013 to January 14, 2014. The purpose of the survey was to test and validate the value statements the participants of the Community Vision workshop came up with.

The youngest respondent to the survey was under age 18, and the oldest was over 75. The majority of responses (49 percent) came from the 45-64 age group. Sixty-two percent of responders were female, and 38 percent were male.

Two value statements came up solidly on top, with the majority of survey responders agreeing with them. These were, “I value the beauty of our natural environment” with 93 percent agreeing, and, “I value our small town way of life and sense of community” with 88.7 percent agreeing.

The other eight value statements all had varying degrees of agreement, but the remaining were all under 70 percent. Eleven responders also added new statements, such as, “I value the seasonal energy of the summer” and “I value the genuine character of the people this region attracts.”

Eighty-four percent of responders agreed that a Boothbay peninsula “brand” would be useful for attracting new residents, retain existing residents, and strengthen the local economy. Seven percent disagreed with the idea.

Many responders added additional ideas and suggestions for improving the region.

The survey results were compiled in a 62-page report by Jane Lafleur of Friends of Midcoast Maine. This report will be given to the artist chosen to create the community brand for the entire Boothbay Region, to assist with his or her creation of a logo, which will speak to the majority of residents and visitors to the region.

Two finalists were chosen out of 16 initial responses to the Steering Committee's request for artists to create the Boothbay region brand. A four-person subcommittee was formed at the meeting to decide which of these two to hire. The Steering Committee's next meeting will take place in mid-February, by which time the subcommittee will have reached its decision.

At the Boothbay Harbor selectmen's meeting later than same night, Board Chairman Bill Hamblen was eager to hear where the Steering Committee was in their process to create a brand.

“Keep the pressure on to get this done,” Hamblen said to members of the committee in attendance. “It would be great to have the logo ready for this coming summer season.”