Calais leaders tout ‘Pine Tree Zones’

CALAIS – The city would like to be part of the economic development program that Gov. John Baldacci introduced during his inaugural address in January.

The governor dubbed the program “Pine Tree Zones.”

City Manager Linda Pagels said Friday that the program would be advantageous to the city. “We are looking forward to the forthcoming guidelines for the new program,” she said.

Washington County’s Pine Tree Zone would have up to 20 sites, Dianne Tilton, executive director of the Sunrise County Economic Council, said in a letter to the city. The total acreage of all these sites must be less than 5,000.

“We would want to be one of the 20 sites, and it would be great for Washington County whether we apply as a city or a county,” she said.

Pagels shared Tilton’s letter with the City Council at a meeting last week. The councilors expressed interest in the governor’s proposal.

“This job creation program will provide a number of tax incentives for companies that locate on a predesignated site,” Tilton said, “including up to a 100 percent rebate on property taxes for 10 years, exemptions on sales tax for building equipment used on the project, 100 percent rebate on employment taxes for 10 years, a 100 percent income tax credit for five years and 50 percent credit for the next five years.”

Tilton said the program is expected to be running this year, and her agency and the Washington County Council of Governments would prepare the application in cooperation with other local groups, including the St. Croix Economic Alliance in Calais.

Although the rules have not yet been written, Tilton said, she urged the council to think about property in its area that would have the best potential for commercial development.

Tilton said her agency and others would be conducting meetings over the next few months to explain the proposed program.