Belfast Co-op Special Announcement
Help Rebuild Co-ops in Haiti
A Message from the Cooperative Development Foundation

As most of you now know, as of 5:00 p.m. yesterday, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake shook the island of Haiti.  Most of Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, has been destroyed and millions of people have lost their homes, workplaces, and family members.  The extent of the devastation is severe; many of Haiti's co-ops have been severely damaged and many of those they serve are in severe need.

A group of about 50 interested community members gathered at the Mathews Brothers building Thursday, January 7 to learn about forming a group to support the creation of the proposed Belfast Events Center. The meeting was set up as part four in a multi-pronged effort to establish the feasibility of an event center in the existing Mathews Brothers building on Spring Street in Belfast. Attendees heard an overview from Mike Hurley, a possible redesign from John Bielenberg, and an overview of board formation and funding opportunities from Scootch Pankonin. While Mr. Hurley led us through the meeting, he said he will step away from the organization when the new group forms.

The Brooks Preservation Society has taken steps to bring the train back to Belfast. Their approach uses common sense, volunteerism, and incremental growth to achieve their goal of offering short, scenic train rides to visitors at no cost to the tax payers of Belfast.

Joe Feero, President of the Belfast & Moosehead Lake Railway and Executive Director of Brooks Preservation reports, “We estimate entry into Belfast toward the end of the summer of 2010. Ridership on our existing routes is expected, by the end of 2010, to be 8,280. With an operation devoted to Belfast by the 2011 season, we expect ridership to surpass 12,000. In 2009 we hauled approximately 3,000 people from Brooks with minimal advertising, an austere budget, and minimal assets, at a more isolated location. Given Belfast’s location we feel it is not unreasonable to project a modest increase in ridership. As the operation matures and marketing exposure grows it is not unreasonable to expect 22,000 by year 5 to ride the train.