By Lisa Wilcox
Staff Writer
Question No. 4 of the referendum questions to be voted on Tuesday, Nov. 5, asks, “Do you favor a $4,500,000 bond issue to provide funds for a public-private partnership for a building project for a new science facility at the Maine Maritime Academy to be matched by other funds?”
This question is asking Maine citizens if they approve of the state borrowing $4.5 million to help the MMA build a new science facility. The state would pay the $4.5 million while $9.6 million would come from private donors.
Maine Maritime Academy, located in Castine, is an accredited college offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in marine engineering and transportation, business and science. The campus has been in existence since 1941.
The academy has seen growth in enrollment over the past 15 years from 650 to 950 full-time students, according to Academy president Dr. William J. Brennan. Currently a total of 12 students from Aroostook County are attending MMA.
In September, MMA broke ground for the ABS Center on Engineering, Science and Research. The center is the first new classroom facility to be built on the campus in 30 years.
The new center will be a state building as MMA is part of the state’s university system. It will be a hub for joint student/faculty research projects, including low emissions biofuel development and testing, wind turbine design, tidal and wave hydrokinetic devices, ocean studies research and many other topics. The estimated total cost of the project is about $14 million.
Last fall, Strategic Maintenance Solutions, an engineering firm based out of Gorham, pledged $500,000 in support of the ABS Center. SMS is co-owned by business partners Jason Oney and Daniel Hobart. Oney is a 1996 graduate of MMA and is originally from Limestone. Hobart is a 1994 graduate from MMA and is originally from Bridgewater.
A “Yes” vote on Question No. 4 would approve issuance of the funds as described in general obligation bonds. The League of Women Voters list arguments for approval of the bond to include the creation of several construction jobs for the project; improvement of training in the sciences for MMA students; current low interest rates for the state to borrow the funds; the $4.5 million bond will be matched by $9.6 million in private funds; and money is needed from the state of Maine in order to get the rest of the private funds.
A “No” vote disapproves the bond in its entirety. Arguments against the bond, according to the League of Women Voters, include Maine would add $4.5 million to its debt; it will cost a total of $5.4 million in principal and interest over 10 years to repay the money; and other projects may be more worthy of the state’s money.
