Mayberry RFD

I live in a small community. It is larger than the one I grew up in but still the whole community is only about 2,000 people. It is a small sea side town, unincorporated and totally (at this point) a very unassuming uninteresting stop in the road. I and a small group of people are working to change that. We envision Clinton as more than just a bump in the road. We envision a community that supports each other, nurtures each other and invites others to enjoy our town with us. We want to help grow Clinton into a seaside destination. My shop is a start (or so I have been told) along with our new city beach. We currently have many artists residing in Clinton but my gallery is the only one alive. We have a community hall that only has about 12 members and we have all the standard businesses that you find in a small community. We also have a framery run by a good friend of mine (she's also our port commissioner) and we have a small library. This is a community that is desperately in need of changing.
One of the things I love about Clinton is that most of the people who live here are individualists.. Still it is the thing that could end up destroying our fair town and that will end up allowing for growth that is uncontrolled and undesirable. Those of you that know about highway 99 in Seattle know what kind of growth I am speaking of. So we are going against the tide and trying to create a community that encourages community activities together and that supports new progressive businesses that encourage tourism and shopping. I envision a Mayberry RFD of sorts. I don't want to know everything that is occurring in Clinton.. I don't need to know my neighbors secrets... I simply want to know my neighbor.. My many neighbors...I want to look at the people in Clinton as friends not strangers ... Not even acquaintances... But friends who share some of the same loves and hates (love of the ocean, the island, and our community, hatred of violence, and things that damage us as a society). I want to hear discussions again, and I want to hear involvement in our citizens. Involvement in the local community that surrounds them. This is the Mayberry RFD we will foster here. This is kind of community that will foster a joy of living here. This is the kind of community that we will see happen if there is enough of us to get the ball rolling. Eventually we will get to the top of the hill with the ball and when it picks up speed going down the otherside it will pick up others who will also see our community changing and will want to be a part of it as well.
I guess I just needed to post this so that I could put in writing what it is I want to see.. How can one share a vision without being able to express it? I guess I am done for today. Am I unrealistic in my endeavors? Is Mayberry RFD a community that only exists in the past? or is it a community vision that just needs a little guidance to exist today?