NG
to hold development meeting Citizen input sought for study
By Elizabeth Prata
New Gloucester-Did you know that New Gloucester household
growth is outpacing population growth in both the
town and the region? Did you know that the town's
population is considerably younger than the region's,
with 36% between age 25 and 44? Did you know that
over half local jobs are in education, health, professional
and business services, compared to 33% in the region?
Above, left to right, Public Works Director Kevin
Doyle, Selectmen Vice Chair Kevin Sullivan, Manager
Rosemary Kulow, and Selectmen David Lunt. The Monument:
Prata photo
All these facts and more were delivered to the Selectmen,
Department Heads, and Manager last Thursday as the
hired economic development consultants from RKG Associates
explained the existing socioeconomic conditions. The
Selectmen had hired the firm to conduct a business
and economic development study, and the major kickoff
to that process is Thursday, December 8. At Pineland
Conference Room A, business owners and interested
citizens will be led through a visioning process designed
to spark ideas and elicit guidelines for appropriate
future growth. It's called a visioning meeting, and
all are invited.
The consultants David Versel of the Economic, Housing,
Tourism, and Land Use Planning in Biddeford, and Darren
Mochrie of RKG Associates in Durham, NH were on hand
to explain the statistics they had gathered. They
discussed the demographic and economic conditions,
the real estate market conditions, and provided a
summary of findings.
One item they suggested that the Selectmen focus on
is the home-occupation businesses. The study found
that in New Gloucester there are 141 private business
establishments, mostly larger, white collar firms.
There are also many small construction, retail, and
service businesses. However, there is 82% leakage,
that's retail spending by residents outside of town.
The consultants noted that the town has a larger than
region ratio of construction related businesses, and
that by encouraging home occupations as complementary
businesses, the town could experience low-impact growth
and retain its rural character.
For example, Manager Rosemary Kulow explained after
the meeting, most towns have as a desirable quality,
'retain rural character,' and home occupation businesses
are a kind that don't usually change the landscape,
are minimal traffic generators, don't demand services,
and often complement larger businesses, such as bookkeepers
or tax consultants.
The housing market is hot in New Gloucester, with
the least expensive single family house listing for
over $200,000, yet the 2000 per capita income is at
or below both counties and state, likely due to the
dual-income households in town and also the younger
age of the population. The only housing under $200,000
available in New Gloucester are mobile homes. Hence,
the commuting pattern shows workers traveling in greater
numbers to Portland rather than Lewiston, which is
closer, "Because that's where the higher paying
jobs are," said Mr. Versel.
Also, Mr. Versel said, "Mobile homes are mobile,
and with land so expensive today there may be an increasing
tendency to move the mobile home and develop."
New Gloucester is poised to become a regional employment
center. The town 2004 employment base has more than
tripled since 1990, and doubled since 2000. This does
not include home occupation businesses, either, because
statistics for those smaller kind of businesses are
not reported to the Department of Labor, where RKG
obtained the data. The data neither included agricultural
employment, of which Pineland Farms employs over 50
people regularly, and more seasonally.
The employment findings were gathered before Pineland's
growth to near capacity. Pineland is a recently converted
multi-use business campus in central New Gloucester.
Therefore, the consultants said, the 2020 employment
estimate shows that as many as 800 jobs may be added.
However, with housing so expensive, rentals nearly
nil, town employees and others who work in New Gloucester
will need places to live. However, the only available
housing are the kind that only affluent people can
afford. The housing issue and the employment and commuting
subjects are tied together.
It is issues like these that the visioning meeting
can help tie together and provide a platform for an
economic development direction that New Gloucester
both desires and is appropriate for the town's infrastructure
and assets.
The packet of information can be obtained at Town
Office, and anyone interested in attending the visioning
meeting, especially those in home-occupation businesses,
are encouraged to attend. As Manager Kulow said, "We
want to ascertain what kind of businesses we have
in the community so we can support them better."
