Question 2: Boosting bio-security in Maine

By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
    According to John Rebar, executive director of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, passage of Question 2 on the Nov. 6 ballot would benefit the entire state.
    Question 2 asks, “Do you favor an $11,300,000 bond issue to provide funds for capital to build a diagnostic facility for the University of Maine System; for capital improvements and equipment, including machine tool technology, for the Maine Community College System; and for capital improvements and equipment at the Maine Maritime Academy?”
    Of the $11.3 million bond, $7.8 million is earmarked for a new animal and plant diagnostic facility at the University of Maine. The proposed 18,000-square-foot building would feature designated areas for animal and plant diagnostic testing and research, an attached greenhouse, a large animal autopsy room and a secure waste disposal system. The new facility, which has the potential to generate 800 jobs in both agricultural and scientific fields, will protect agricultural jobs from the serious economic threats of plant and animal disease, food-borne illness, and invasive species.
    “What we’re trying to emphasize is that passage of this bond will build, create and protect Maine jobs,” said Rebar. “For example, in Aroostook County, we use a lot of our diagnostic capabilities to support the potato industry, as well as other sectors of the agricultural economy including the wild blueberry, dairy, and the growing cheese industries.
    “The challenge we have is that we have very outdated facilities that were built in the 1940s and ‘50s and they need to be updated,” he said. “We’ve outgrown their capacity, and we don’t have the kind of bio-security that we need when you’re dealing with potentially infectious agents or trying to quarantine the diseases. Right now we don’t have that bio-secure location.”
    Rebar said construction of a new diagnostic facility that monitors and addresses serious threats like late blight, E. Coli, ticks and bedbugs will “ensure the stability of key Maine industries and protect the livelihood of those who work in and depend on these sectors of the state’s economy.”
    “The new diagnostic facility will enable the state to retain and expand the jobs of Maine people who study and work to eradicate threats to our agricultural economy and public health,” he said.
    Because there is no organized opposition to Question 2, Rebar said the bond issue “hasn’t risen to wide attention.”
    “You’re not going to see a large television campaign,” he said, “so we’re doing what we can to create public awareness so we have an informed electorate when they go into the voting booth on Nov. 6. Question 2 is not just about building something at the university or at the community colleges; it’s about an investment in Maine’s future.”