PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — With a $70,000 grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, the Northern Maine Development Commission is working on an evolving economic development strategy for Aroostook and Washington counties.
The NMDC receives roughly $70,000 each year for comprehensive economic development planning in the two counties, which together comprise a federal development district, according to Jon Gulliver, NMDC’s director of investor and community relations.
“It’s a way for NMDC staff to engage with private industry and municipalities to identify ways to advance the economy of Aroostook and Washington counties,” Gulliver said.
As part of the work, NMDC releases a report on the economic development strategy with new information on economic goals, demographics and other information, with the latest update due in a couple months, Gulliver said.
Aroostook and Washington counties were joined into the Aroostook Washington economic development district in 2011, comprising one of the seven districts in Maine and more than 350 across the country.
“The linkage between Aroostook and Washington counties has many similar attributes and unique assets — some of them with great promise and some with serious challenges,” according to the 2016-2017 report.
Gulliver said the NMDC is focusing the economic development strategy on six industries in Aroostook and Washington counties: agriculture, forestry, energy, manufacturing, marine resources and tourism. To develop goals and identify challenges and opportunities, the NMDC works with municipalities and private employers through Aroostook Partnership and Sunrise County Economic Council, which are comprised of representatives from major businesses.
“The biggest challenge facing the [Aroostook and Washington district] is workforce related, due to the loss of population,” the 2017 report noted.
Other challenges in the two counties include high energy costs, poor broadband internet access, transportation limitations and a lack of entrepreneurial culture and training, the report noted.
Among the opportunities for the counties are ample farmland and timber resources, proximity to the Canadian border, and international shipping possibilities for the Port of Eastport.
Each year, NMDC also highlights several “priority projects” in Aroostook and Washington counties that could be good candidates for federal investments from the Economic Development Administration, Gulliver said.
Last year, priority projects included infrastructure improvements at the former Cutler Naval Station in Cutler and infrastructure improvements for the Maine Military Authority building at the Loring Commerce Centre industrial park in Limestone.
In Cutler, the former Naval station could be a candidate for redevelopment into a light manufacturing center, while in Limestone the Maine Military Authority would benefit from improvements to its space in order to service municipal buses, according to the report.
Gulliver said that interested businesses or municipal leaders can suggest priority project ideas for the upcoming report.
“I’d like to have three or four per county,” Gulliver said.
