Staff Writer

 Improving the appearance of downtown Biddeford could be as simple as painting a door, picking up trash or adding more lighting, residents and business owners said Monday during a HeartWorks Downtown Master Plan workshop.

The workshop is part of the HeartWorks Project funded by a grant from the Orton Family Foundation. The Heart and Soul Community Planning Initiative focuses on creating a downtown master plan for revitalization. The HeartWorks Project and downtown master plan are a joint project of the city of Biddeford, Heart of Biddeford and Orton Family Foundation.

Residents in a series of neighborhood meetings last year identified infrastructure, natural resources, downtown activity, economic revitalization and physical appearance as key planning topics for the master plan.

Tammy Ackerman, president of the Heart of Biddeford Executive Board, said the workshop was an opportunity for people to generate ideas to improve downtown Biddeford’s physical appearance.

Mark Eyerman, planning consultant for the master plan process, said residents at neighborhood meetings frequently cited trash as a major concern, both in terms of littering and promoting recycling. Residents also agreed the downtown’s image at night is hurt by limited lighting. Other ideas included brightening up the city with more color on signs, awnings, buildings and public art.

Participants in Monday’s workshop echoed those concerns and suggested a variety of ways to improve downtown. Eileen Foley, who helped organize Biddeford Cares to decorate downtown during the holidays, said a little bit of color can make a big difference.

“A gallon of paint can go a long way if you’re improving your building,” she said.

Foley suggested building owners paint front doors, trim and window boxes in bright colors. A downtown promotion could feature photos of the “doors of Biddeford,” she said. Foley cited Ackerman’s orange building on Franklin Street and the purple exterior of Lacava near the corner of Main and Water streets as examples of buildings that people remember because of the colors.

“People do cognitively map the city based on those two buildings. We could use some more brightly colored buildings,” she said.

Alex Kaminsky, a muralist from Biddeford, said he would like to see more colorful murals downtown. He has painted murals at Run of the Mill and New Morning Natural Foods.

“I believe art attracts people to the town and gives a lot of color,” he said.

Resident Bill Durkin said he thinks business owners should do more to keep window displays fresh and interesting. During the 20 years he ran a travel agency on Washington Street, he added lighting and frequently changed window displays to improve the appearance of the business, he said.

Holly Culloton, co-owner of Lacava and chairman of the Heart of Biddeford Design Committee, said 30 whisky barrels of flowers were planted downtown last year. She said the design committee is looking at ways to incorporate window boxes and wall gardens downtown. She also said more should be done to encourage landlords to replace “dingy, dirty peeling paint” on empty storefronts to attract new businesses.

Laura Dunn, a local artist, said filling empty storefronts could be the way to improve appearances.

“The overall look of Biddeford at first glace is often the emptiness of it,” she said.

Chris Betjemann, co-owner of Lincoln Mill, agreed empty buildings are a problem and said decisive action needs to be taken to attract more business.

“I feel one of our biggest problems is the emptiness of the storefronts,” he said. “We need to start decisively targeting businesses to bring downtown to fill these storefronts. It’s the biggest problem on Main Street.”

David Flood, owner of two Main Street buildings, said he would like to see more pocket parks developed downtown. Biddeford has seven parks or designated open spaces downtown. Flood said the small, unnamed park at the corner of Lincoln and Main streets would be a great place for chairs or benches. The .12-acre park is landscaped but is fenced off and rarely used, he said.

The Downtown Development Commission is having a World War I canon from the park restored. It is expected to be returned as the centerpiece of the park this spring.

Several participants voiced concerns about trash, dog feces and cigarette butts on downtown sidewalks. Ackerman said placing more trash cans and cigarette- butt receptacles may be helpful.

Public Works Director Guy Casavant said he has not had requests for more trash cans downtown. Specific concerns like that should be brought to the attention of city officials, he said. He also said property owners need to take responsibility for cleaning trash and snow in front of their businesses because the city cannot do it alone.

“This has to be a cooperative effort. There needs to be a mutual respect and understanding. When one area is not kept up, everyone notices,” he said. “Everyone needs to buy into this.”

Resident James LeBlond said an aggressive effort is needed to “sell” Biddeford while improving its appearance. He said he would like to see signs hung downtown – possibly on lamp posts – to honor veterans from the city.

“If history is important to us, why not honor it?” he asked.

City Councilor Jim Emerson said the downtown appearance could be improved with the simple addition of accent lighting.

“Small lights in a lot of different areas bring a wonderful, warm atmosphere to the community,” he said.

Ackerman said the final workshop in this phase of the project will be 4:30 to 6 p.m. Feb. 28 in council chambers. A draft of the master plan will be presented at a March 21 community forum.

“We’ll ask the community if we heard them correctly,” she said.

The final draft of the master plan is expected to be complete by April 11. Ackerman said she hopes the city will then accept the master plan into the comprehensive plan expected to be complete by the end of 2012. 

Staff Writer Gillian Graham can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 213.