Dear Editor:

I read with interest the article about wanting volunteers to look into ways of improving the waterfront in Wiscasset.

We lived in Wiscasset for nine years back before 2013 and remember well the same thing being discussed then, as it had been, I'm sure, before we moved there. The thing I find most interesting is that the talk is still the same. Lots of talk, no action. An engineering study was done years ago to improve the water treatment plant area and turn it into a transportation hub, providing bus service, a real train station (instead of a loading pallet), and much needed additional parking. Nothing was ever done. While we were there, plans were made to install a walking trail from Chewonki all the way into the harbor area in Wiscasset. That didn't happen either.

We joined the newly formed Chamber of Commerce in hopes that it would start to make some needed improvements in the town. From what I've seen, limited steps have been taken (while we were there, it seemed the town wanted the Chamber to do what the town wanted instead of the Chamber suggesting to the town that it should do certain things to improve its image.

Unfortunately, we gave up, and left. We saw too many new businesses come and go because of lack of support from the town during that time. We wished it would have been different. We had a wonderful property and miss that. While many river towns have taken advantage of the fact they had a waterfront, Wiscasset seems to be stuck in the same stuck in the mud image it has a history of showing. It's just a shame that Wiscasset will always be a "pass through" town, and not a “destination town.” Too bad!

Frank Risell

Lancaster, Pennsylvania