Valley towns unite in quest for growth

GRAND ISLE — Four lower St. John Valley communities that decided to join forces to improve the region’s economy held their first joint meeting Tuesday in Grand Isle.

Earlier this year, Van Buren, the leader in the effort, applied to the state Department of Economic and Community Development for a $50,000 defense conversion grant to fund an economic planning office.

The office — complete with a full-time economic planner and part-time office help — would work not only for Van Buren but also for the bordering municipalities of Grand Isle, Hamlin and Cyr Plantation.

David Wylie, Van Buren’s grant administrator, said Tuesday that the proposal was approved and that a contract with the DECD has been signed.

Representatives at the meeting from Van Buren and Grand Isle hoped their decision to work together would boost their chances for success. Hamlin and Cyr Plantation sent no representatives to the first meeting, but both communities have expressed support for the venture.

To those who attended, the idea of working together had merit.

“Any job up in this area benefits everybody,” said James Michaud, chairman of the Grand Isle Board of Selectmen. “If the economic planner creates a job in Van Buren, it could be a person from Grand Isle working there. … If Van Buren becomes stronger, that’s bound to rub off on Grand Isle.”

“If we work together, I think the economic planner will probably subdue any bad vibes (that might arise in any of the member communities),” said Carmen Violette, a Van Buren town councilor and chairman of the town’s economic development committee.

Given the ailing economy and stiff competition among communities, states and nations for business and industrial opportunities, the regional planner has his or her work cut out, Michaud noted.

“I think we have to be realistic about this. It’s unlikely that we’re going to get a Fraser (Paper Ltd. mill) to come here,” Michaud said. He felt the region would fare best if it focuses on small businesses. “If we got 10 or 15 of those, we’d be in good shape.” It also was vital to support existing businesses, he said.

Michaud cited differences between Maine and New Brunswick, ranging from the financial help and incentives given business to efforts to prepare merchants to compete with the Walmarts of the world.

In Maine, Michaud said, “it’s not, `What can I do to help you?’ — it’s `What can I do to screw you?’ … If it’s not an industry that wants to create 500 jobs, (state government) is not interested.”

Wylie said, “Canadians have a stronger regional development concept than we do. They look at their existing conditions and resources and develop businesses from within.”

Van Buren Town Manager Clare Dever, who came to town with a corporate legal background, said many states offered competitive tax incentives, which he said were illegal in Maine.

Wylie said options that have gone virtually untapped are those which would turn Maine’s natural resources, such as lumber, into jobs.

Michaud agreed: “We have trees and basically ship them out (to other countries) who massage it and sell it back to us and make damn good money.”