Foresight helps Glenburn deal with rapid growth

loading...

GLENBURN – Officials in one fast-growing suburb in the Bangor area weren’t caught unaware when the 2000 census showed a 24 percent growth rate over the past decade.

After all, Glenburn had an even higher rate of growth in the 1980s – almost 38 percent. With the two spurts, the population is now nudging 4,000.

But Town Manager Carl Betterley said Glenburn has taken measures in recent years that put it in a good position to plan for its future.

More than a decade ago, councilors instituted a shoreland ordinance “that goes above what the state requires,” Betterley said.

“If I own property on Pushaw Lake and it’s been in the family for 100 years, and I sell it to you, before it changes hands, a person licensed by the state has to determine that the subservice waste system is adequate,” he offered as an example. In other words, if the septic system isn’t up to par, the new owner would have to fix it.

“For them to have taken that step is very important for water quality,” Betterley pointed out.

The town manager also noted the foresight of town councils over the years in acquiring land for the town to set aside to meet future needs.

That includes acreage around the Glenburn Elementary School that could be used for school expansion, land at Lakeside Landing that is being used for a town park, and more land on the west side of town.

One parcel across from the corner of Ohio Street and Phillips Road, explained Councilor Kevin Paschal, now holds a basketball court constructed in memory of Philip D. Moody, a former town councilor who was a member of the Bangor Police Department.

Opposite the same corner is one of the fire stations, in the same building as the West Glenburn Community Club, which donated $7,000 to the new skate park that will be built this fall.

Paschal called the club “another jewel” in the town.

“They put money back into the community just as quick as they get it,” Betterley said.

Settled in 1805 and once known as Dutton, Glenburn was incorporated in 1822. Like Levant, the town lost part of its land to the new town of Kenduskeag in 1852. Another piece was set off for Old Town in 1929.

Paschal, who has lived all his 39 years in Glenburn, has been a councilor for four years and said members are aware of the community’s burgeoning population.

“We do have concerns about growth,” Paschal said.

It makes sense to him that people want to move to the small town just outside Bangor.

“We have a low tax rate and all the proper municipal services – ambulance, fire department, a contract with the sheriff’s department, and a choice of schools,” he said.

Like several other towns without their own high school, Glenburn pays tuition for youngsters to attend a high school in the area.

The town also has invested $1.25 million in the elementary school for renovations, such as a new roof and improvements that affect air quality. Of that amount, $700,000 was contributed by the state, and $300,000 was a loan from the state.

Two additions have been constructed during the growth spurts, but a middle school may be needed at some point, Paschal said.

Enrollment at the elementary school has increased by about 100 pupils over the past 20 years, for a building population of 509 last year. The high school-age population increased by the same number, for a total of 249 last year.

And people continue to move in.

“Most houses being built are well-laid out,” Betterley said. Some of those are being constructed in subdivisions such as Forest Hills on Hudson Road.

Last week, the planning board gave approval to Country Estates, a 10-lot subdivision planned by Aaron Knowles for Pushaw Road.

Like numerous other communities in the state, Glenburn recently went through the process of updating its comprehensive plan, Betterley said.

Once the state gives its approval to the plan, he added, the council “will be taking a look at subdivision ordinances and the land use ordinance.”

With growth, Betterley said, “the largest impact [on the tax rate] comes on the school side. On the municipal side, there are highways to be plowed and sanded, and you add a few houses to your rubbish contract.”

The residential growth has not had as much effect on police coverage, the town manager said. The main concern there is what Betterley describes as “background traffic,” the through traffic involving people coming from other towns through Glenburn to Bangor, for example.

Roads, of course, are always a subject for discussion.

“We’ve got a study coming up looking at all of our roads,” Betterley said, whether major paved roads or gravel roads.

Another topic that already has received significant study is the need for more space for municipal offices.

“We’ve outgrown this building,” the town manager said.

Officials have looked at the costs of expanding the current building next to the fire station on Lakeview Road, of tearing down the municipal offices in order to build new ones, and of constructing a new building but retaining the old one for some other use.

The last proposal probably would be the most economical, Betterley said, but the council will make a decision this fall.