Recent articles in the media about the 2000 Census reinforce the need for job creation as the best way to stop the declining population in Piscataquis County. Paychecks are the top priority for our region – if people have jobs then they can support a family and stay here.

That’s why efforts by the Piscataquis Economic Development Council and the town of Dover-Foxcroft to bring Creative Apparel and its 70 jobs to the area are so important. What the PCEDC is doing with Creative Apparel is where the rubber meets the road in local economic development. Mark Scarano, business development director at PCEDC, may go down a lot of blind alleys in his search for new business, but when he hits paydirt it is meaningful for our region.

It is a well-known statistic among economic development people that nationally, two jobs are created in the community for every new manufacturing job that is brought in. This explains why every town in the United States is begging for manufacturing jobs and why the competition for them is so brutal. It explains why Dover-Foxcroft gave PQ Controls three acres for its plans, why Pleasant River Lumber received a tax break and industrial revenue bond for its expansion, and why we are working so hard to help Creative Apparel locate here.

The types of jobs that towns go after are those jobs that bring new money into the community and manufacturing jobs are the most important because they form the foundation of the local economy. When we see people going to work at Moosehead Manufacturing, Guilford of Maine, Hardwood Products or Pride Manufacturing, we should all feel fortunate that those jobs are here and are bringing new money into our towns and into the cash registers of local merchants.

When someone says that the town is giving sweet deals to manufacturing companies and asks, “What are you doing for me?” the answer is that the town is bringing you customers and the new money that keeps you and your business going. Every retail and service business should be on the bandwagon to support the town as it works to bring in more manufacturing jobs, whether it is Creative Apparel or the next company down the line that wants to modernize an existing facility or bring a new business in.

Expanding our manufacturing base is the best way to stabilize our existing population and maintain the critical mass of our labor pool. It’s the best way to ensure that we have enough students to support our schools, enough funds to support our churches and civic organizations, and to maintain our roads and municipal services.

Creative Apparel is an example of exactly the type of manufacturing business our town should foster: Maine-based, successful, environmentally friendly, with competitive pay. And the bottom line is jobs. If they bring us 70 new jobs, that will help support another 140 in our region as a result. That’s a good investment no matter how you look at it.

On May 14, Dover-Foxcroft will hold a special town meeting to authorize the town to borrow $500,000 to supplement a $400,000 state grant in order to construct a 15,000 square foot building for Creative Apparel. After five years, the town will owe less than half the value of the building. The town’s cost for the loan will be recouped through the lease with Creative Apparel.

We all know that life is full of uncertainties, but should the company pull out after five to six years, the town will be left with the balance of the loan to pay off until this new commercial building can be marketed. One of the chronic problems in Piscataquis County has been the lack of quality manufacturing space and PCEDC people will tell you that we have lost opportunities in the past five years because of this.

So, on May 14, when Dover-Foxcroft voters decide, you need to ask yourself, is this a reasonable risk for the town, and if we don’t do it, who will?

Owen Pratt is the town manager of Dover-Foxcroft.