News

New Gloucester makes Boomtown list
Cited for high quality and economic development
By Elizabeth Prata

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.