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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z F O C U S M I D C O A S T & D OW N E A S T 15 the first thing that had to happen was hope," says Bill Kitchen, vice chair of the select board. At that time, "I would have said, 'We're at a tipping point. is community can continue to slide into decline, or it can turn around.'" e decline has been tied to the aging infra- structure — the airport, sidewalks and roads; vacant and rundown buildings, closed businesses. It was also tied to the young people leaving and the aging of the population. "If you were not from here and drove through this town, there was no reason to stop," says Kitchen. Residents often just "threw up their hands," says Sharon Mack, executive director of the Machias Bay Area Chamber of Commerce. "When I first came here and went to meetings, someone would come up with an idea and people would say, 'Oh, that won't work here,'" Mack says. But there was a marshalling of forces that began occurring about two years ago. From the municipal perspective, Kitchen recalls, "It was the town gov- ernment saying, 'You know what? is is not going to be a 'fix-it' board. is is going to be a board that does things.' It might sound simple. But that was a sea change of attitude." P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F M A C H I A S VA L L E Y A I R P O R T C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E » Airport improvements I n May, Machias Savings Bank and Bold Coast Smoke Shop kicked off the Machias Valley Airport Capital Campaign with commitments of $50,000 and $12,500, respectively, toward airport improvements over the next five years, including a new access road, reconstruction of a runway and aircraft apron, con- struction of a self-serve fuel area, and a hangar and storage building. The Machias Airport Committee continues to seek funding to construct a 5,000-foot runway, with an eye toward the airport's role as a vital transportation link to the outside world. The facility's 2,900-foot runway can only accommodate single-engine aircraft. FROM LEFT: Machias Savings Bank President and CEO Larry Barker, Melissa Denbow of Machias Savings Bank, Machias Airport Committee Chairman Mike Radeka, Machias Town Manager Christina Therrien, Machias Selectman William Kitchen, Machias Selectman Joshua Rolfe, and Bold Coast Smoke Shop owner Jason Prescott.