Results of Issue Survey
June 2008

The following were clearly identified as priorities of the coalition with greater than 75% support:

• Funding for capital investment in downtowns, Main Streets, villages
• Ensure that federal buildings remain in downtowns (post offices, e.g.)
• Education campaign to highlight the economic return from revitalization efforts
• Provide up-front preservation planning assistance for historic tax credit projects and other projects
• Develop a “revitalization” agenda for the Legislature, publicize, track it and hold Legislators accountable [PROCESS]
• Recruit more Main Street communities & support existing
• Ease parking restrictions, particularly MSHA rules
• Create a Communities for Maine’s Future program for strategic community investment, modeled after LMF
• Ensure that MSHA counts the historic tax credit as leverage
• Ease elevator standards and streamline elevator licensing
• Develop a pool of preservation professionals and work with education community to get programs in place
• Seek dedicated funding sources
• Require government offices to locate downtown, and ease (parking) restrictions that prevent this
• Funding for transportation improvements, particularly pedestrian & alternative transportation
• Support the New Century Fund

Of this list, the following was clearly identified as a long term priority:

• Develop a pool of preservation professionals and work with education community to get programs in place

The following were clearly identified as immediate priorities (in order):

• Ease parking restrictions, particularly MSHA rules
• Provide up-front preservation planning assistance
• Highlight economic return from revitalization efforts
• Develop a revitalization agenda for the Legislature
• Seek dedicated funding sources
• Keep federal buildings downtown (post offices)
• Create a Communities for Maine’s Future program modeled on LMF
• Ensure that MSHA counts the historic tax credit as leverage

The remaining priorities need more discussion about timeframe:

• Funding for capital investment in downtowns, Main Streets, villages (source & type to be working out).  This was the only item that 100% of members thought a priority, but we were 50-50 over whether it’s short or long term.
• Recruit and support Main Street Communities; 45% said this was long term, 40% immediate.
• Ease elevator standards & streamline licensing; 45% said long term, 35% immediate.
• Require gov’t offices to locate downtown and address parking restrictions that prevent it; 45% immediate priority, and 30% said long term.
• Funding for transportation improvements, particularly pedestrians; 40% said it’s immediate, and 35% said long term.
• Support New Century Fund; 40% said immediate, 35% long term.