HOULTON, Maine — After declaring its first speculative building a successful venture, the town is now considering constructing a second investment property at the Houlton Industrial Park.
The board of directors for the Shiretown Development Corp., which is made up solely by members of the town council, agreed Monday to give Houlton Town Manager Butch Asselin the go-ahead to pursue a second speculative building as an economic development tool for the area.
SDC functions as an economic development arm for the town and consists of the town councilors. Back in May, the group gave the go-ahead to build a $270,000 building near the Houlton International Airport with the hopes of that property being purchased for development. Money for the project was taken from the town’s Airport Tax Increment Finance account.
The shell of a building has been erected on a one-acre parcel of land that had already been authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration and for which the town had been approved by the Department of Environmental Protection for sewer and water permit by rule.
During Monday night’s meeting, Asselin said the town has been negotiating with Smith and Wesson to take over that speculative building as part of a five-year lease-to-purchase plan for that manufacturing plant. Asselin said if the tentative deal reaches fruition, it could create 20 additional jobs for the company.
“There is no official commitment from their [Smith and Wesson] part, but I am pretty hopeful that a something can be finalized,” Asselin said.
Officials from Smith and Wesson did not attend Monday night’s session.
SDC member Matt Carr asked if the town stood to receive any financial gain from the sale of the speculative building. Asselin replied the only financial gain would be the creation of an additional piece of taxable property, as well as the additional jobs brought to the community.
The group gave its consensus approval to have Asselin move forward with a second speculative building on a different parcel of land in the industrial park in the hopes that it would encourage even more economic growth.
At the regular council meeting held prior to the SDC meeting, councilors heard from two residents who acknowledged the passing of former town councilor Phil Bernaiche, who died Sept. 18.
“I was privileged to serve with Phil on town council and the board of budget review,” said resident Sue Tortello. “Though I didn’t always agree with Phil, I never doubted for a moment that he cared deeply for the town of Houlton. He was a strong advocate for people with special needs and a tenacious defender of the rights of our senior citizens.”
Resident Carl Lord requested that the council dedicate Monday night’s meeting in memory of Bernaiche. His request was not addressed by the board.
“As I look around the room here, I can only pick out three people who showed up [to Bernaiche’s service] to show their respect,” Lord said. “It tells me a lot about the council. I was disappointed and so was the Bernaiche family.”
