Creating the coastal economy Forum eyes midcoast’s potentials, possibilities

ROCKLAND – Developing a creative economy was the rallying slogan at a panel discussion held Tuesday at the Farnsworth Art Museum.

“If we do not have a creative economy, we will not be able to attract outside companies,” said Jonathan Daniels, president and chief executive officer of Eastern Maine Development Corp., one of the participants in the “Bringing Business to the Coast” forum hosted by Midcoast Magnet.

Other speakers included Maine Economic Development Commissioner John Richardson, Maine & Co. Chief Executive Officer Matt Jacobsen, and Postoffice Editorial owner and filmmaker David Berez, who is also part of Pen Bay Media, a Camden-based technology company. Dorian P. LeBlanc, vice president of finance for Camden National Corp. and the chairman of the Midcoast Magnet board of directors, facilitated the discussion.

Midcoast Magnet was formed two years ago as a nonprofit organization of people who are trying to attract and retain people interested in a creative economy, said Howard “Skip” Bates, a Midcoast Magnet director and a vice president of Bangor Savings Bank. The nonprofit organization serves Knox and Waldo counties.

A musical performance by a youth string quartet preceded the forum in the museum’s auditorium to set a creative tone for the evening.

LeBlanc pointed out that arts and culture make the midcoast “a great place to live. It’s part of what makes people quit their jobs elsewhere and come here to become entrepreneurs,” he said, calling the natural beauty of the area an economic and aesthetic asset.

Berez, a producer or director of more than 200 films, showed a four-minute documentary of his recent tour in Iraq photographing war casualties.

Richardson said later that he could identify with the wounded servicemen and women in Berez’s film. Thirty years ago, as a Washington, D.C., firefighter, Richardson suffered burns on 30 percent of his body.

The next speaker, Jacobsen of Maine & Co., a sales and marketing corporation, said his firm’s role is to try to recruit companies to bring jobs to Maine.

Yet Maine is not cooperative, according to Jacobsen. He said it is the only state that does not publicly fund a business attraction center.

Citing development efforts in other states, Jacobsen said South Dakota uses a general sales approach, while Wisconsin spends money to target a specific market. Mississippi did its homework for seven years to attract Toyota to build a factory in Tupelo, a city of 34,000.

Toyota officials said they based their selection on the positive attitude of the residents, Jacobsen said.

Daniels of Eastern Maine Development Corp. pointed out the loss of jobs in the paper industry since 1970.

Maine is the No. 2 paper-producing state, but “we don’t celebrate that,” Daniels said. “Instead, we talk about the loss of manufacturing jobs.”

He stressed the need to use more resources in training a more skilled work force to draw outside investors.

He also pointed out that 43 million people live within 500 miles of the midcoast, making it a potential bonanza for local businesses.

“We need to develop the products for Matt to sell,” he said of Jacobsen’s marketing company.

Richardson, who said he was celebrating his 49th birthday that day, said a creative economy is also about people creating new jobs within the state’s existing businesses.

“Ours is a small-business state made up of 90 percent of the work force from small companies,” he said.

He stressed the need to strengthen downtown areas for an improved economy and cited Rockland as an example of a community that has improved itself over the past 20 years.

Passenger rail service is an important economic development tool, Richardson said. On a tour of Rockland’s railroad station Tuesday afternoon, he discussed with Gordon Page, director of passenger operations for Eastern Maine Railroad, the available options for local train service in light of the Legislature’s recent cut of a $40 million track rehabilitation bond that would have made possible a passenger rail connection between Portland and Rockland.

“I know the governor is committed to it,” Richardson said of improved rail service. “It’s not just a transportation need, but also a development strategy.”

He suggested an interim alternate route from Yarmouth to Lewiston on the St. Lawrence and Atlantic line, with a connection to Brunswick on the Eastern Maine Railroad line, as a less costly option.