New Gloucester makes Boomtown list
Cited for high quality and economic development
New Gloucester--What separates the thriving towns from the struggling ones?
Do the people within a prosperous town approach their lives differently
than those in a struggling town? According to Jack Schultz, author of "Boomtown
USA: 7 1/2 Keys to Big Success in Small Towns," the answer is yes,
and New Gloucester has done it.
New Gloucester is among eight towns in his book which have met criteria
indicating they are ready to grow. Criteria included leadership, population
growth, job growth, per-capita income as well as other indicators, such
as crime rate, housing affordability, college graduation, high school graduation
about a dozen total criteria in all. New Gloucester joins seven other Maine
towns on Schultz's list: Belfast, Blue Hill, Camden, Rumford, Sanford,
Waterville, and Wiscasset. He looked at 15,800 small towns, narrowed those
down 397, and then chose 100 potential "boomtowns" in the US.
Why so many towns in Maine?
"Eight towns in Maine, it just fell out that way," Mr.
Schultz said in an interview with The Monument from his office in Effingham,
IL. "That's as many as New Hampshire, New York, and Massachusetts,
combined. Maine did well."
Mr. Schultz's Boomtowns are growing communities called "agurbs," a
term he trademarked. Agurbs are economically successful towns at least
50 miles away from an urban area and have managed to transcend the national
shift from an agricultural economy to an industrial one, and despite
the fact that their populations are aging, youths are departing, and
their economy is struggling.
Institutional memory in Steve Libby
Steve Libby is New Gloucester Selectmen Chair. He's served
on that town's Boards and Committees continuously since 1986. Asked for
his reaction, Mr. Libby said, "I am not surprised that New Gloucester
made the final 100 "Boom Towns" but I am biased of course.
There have been many key events / actions I've seen take place since
1986. One being New Gloucester's reluctance to have knee jerk reactions
to one-time events or outside pressures. One result is a slow public
process but I would not trade that for all thought decisions that are
rejected later."
That approach is consistent with a key element of success, leadership,
Mr. Schultz said. "It takes real visionary people to make a town
work. People who ask, 'does this make sense, when should we push forward?'
The advantage of small towns is that there are only one or two, or a
handful of people to keep things moving forward," he said.
Small is better
As Chair of a five-member Selectboard, Mr. Libby said, "I'm
a firm believer in the committee process. Staff should be for technical
support and the citizen committees should determine direction and do
the work if at all possible. People are more apt to accept change if
it is gradual and comes from citizen committees."
New Gloucester Planner James Isaacson noted that "We have strong,
local leadership that has a "can-do" attitude. This attitude
of "we can achieve our vision" has led to the redevelopment
of Pineland, the adoption of innovative land use tools such as open space
subdivisions and Transfer of Development Rights, and a high quality of
living."
It is a high quality of living that people are looking for, Mr. Schultz
explained. "More than the tax burden, which is sixth or seventh.
It is a strong labor force and good quality of life that people and businesses
rate as most important. Maine has what people are looking for, and towns
like New Gloucester offer a way out of the rat race."
Have a vision. Be the vision
Developing a vision and sticking with it are factors that
also contribute to a town's success. Mr. Isaacson said that "maintain[ing]
our focus on what it is that truly defines New Gloucester, and continue
to foster activities that build on that vision."
Mr. Schultz said that New Gloucester typifies what makes a town successful-
thinking small and diversification, concepts that go against the grain
of common economic development philosophy. "There were only 200
projects with over 200 employees started last year, with 35,000 economic
development groups vying for them. Yet 700,000 new businesses start each
month. It is those that a town should develop and nurture into strong
medium-sized businesses," Mr. Schultz said. Mr. Schultz calls seeking
the big economic bang looking for "the elephant companies."
The elephant
An elephant company came looking for New Gloucester, not
the other way around, in 1999-2000. The Libra Foundation, which describes
itself as "a responsive, dynamic and well-endowed private philanthropic
foundation which has approximately $300 million in assets," purchased
the old state-run hospital at Pineland through its real estate arm, the
October Corporation. When the hospital closed in 1996, Pineland consisted
of a 28-building campus and 1600-plus acres. Much of that farmland had
been used to sustain the hospital staff and residents. Convertng it to
a multi-use business campus and working famrms, over the lastfive years,
the Pineland property is now double the original acreage and includes
a 19-building campus and three farms. October Corporation is the second
largest landowner in New Gloucester, after Chandler Brothers and just
ahead of the Shakers.
With a behemoth like that lumbering around a small, rural town, the impact
could have been overwhelmingly detrimental. Instead, Town Manager Rosemary
Kulow said that "the resources and opportunities offered by Pineland
and the surrounding area draw more and more people to New Gloucester."
She credits former Town manager Bill Cooper, saying, "At the time
Mr. Schultz was gathering data for his book, Bill Cooper was Town Manager
in New Gloucester. Bill's leadership, and that provided by the town's
elected and appointed officials and volunteers, contributed to the development
of the Tax Increment Financing District that encompasses the campus.
The cooperation and support offered by local officials provided a positive
environment for the Libra Foundation to implement its vision, renovation,
and development of Pineland."
Mr. Isaacson agreed. "The redevelopment of Pineland has made a significant
contribution to New Gloucester's success. The vision embraced by the
Libra Foundation and being carried out by the October Corporation complements
New Gloucester's vision for preserving open space and rural resources."
What can struggling towns do? What did New Gloucester
do?
Asked what advice Mr. Schultz would offer to struggling
towns, he said, "Read the book, figure out how the community stacks
up among the criteria, and work on one at a time. And stop hunting for
the elephants."
Mr. Libby said, "An important factor is our respect for our fellow
citizens, tax-payers and land owners. I've seen many other towns pass
ordinances that are anti-applicant that are just red tape. This leads
to a negative tone towards town leaders and staff. I've watched other
towns increase services beyond the ability to pay. This leads towards
imbalanced services, high property taxes and again, negative sentiment
towards local leaders and staff. We have worked hard to look at all points
of view before asking the voters to add services or pass an ordinance.
We have also worked very hard to have a "user friendly" staff.
We want citizens to feel comfortable coming to the town hall with questions
and so forth."
Mr. Libby continued, "As a Selectman I've worked with three town
managers, two CEO's, two planners, two assessors' agents and two public
works directors. I can't say enough for their commitment to treat the
public with respect. The same for all the other Selectmen I've served
with. We have always considered ourselves just agents for the residents,
carrying out their wishes. This is why our budgets pass town meeting,
our town property taxes remain very low and ordinances pass town votes.
Public sentiment is extremely important. If they trust their elected
officials and are treated with respect you end up with a nice town to
live, work and play in."
And you have a Boomtown, too.
Did you know?
Maine has 491 cities and towns but over 400 of them have
a population of less than 3,500. New Gloucester's was 4,800 in 2000.
By Elizabeth Prata
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