Business Tribute

Clark sees potential for growth at park

By Kathy McCarty  
Staff Writer

    PRESQUE ISLE — The potential for growth at the industrial park has been the driving force for Larry Clark, executive director of the Presque Isle Industrial Council.

File image/The Star-Herald

    AN ARCHIVED article, which ran in a 1968 issue of The Star-Herald, announces the hiring of Larry Clark as director of the Presque Isle Industrial Council. Over 45 years later, Clark continues to serve in the role, overseeing activity at the industrial park, including property rentals and promoting the city as the place to do business in Aroostook County. 

    Clark has spent decades promoting the park and its many businesses, which employ upwards of 600 people.
    “That figure includes Northern Maine Community College and several manufacturers,” said Clark, who was hired initially as the city’s first code enforcement officer, then was selected to represent the PIIC in 1968.
    Earlier this month, Clark made his annual presentation to Presque Isle City Council.
    “The Industrial Council was created 53 years ago, in 1961, by the city of Presque Isle — comprised both of membership and a board of directors. It’s governed by a board of seven directors. We have a staff of three full-time and four seasonal,” said Clark, noting the PIIC is “responsible for the management and development of the Presque Isle Industrial Park, which includes 450 acres total to manage and also includes 27 buildings, which occupy over a half million square feet of space.”
    “Off park, we’re responsible for Fairview Acres’ nine-acre site, the Bon Air site of five acres,” he said.
    Funds managed by the organization include: building, capital, land and railroad reserve accounts. The PIIC also maintains 5.5 miles in railroad assets, on land owned by the city. “This includes the intermodal yard.”
    Clark said work continued with existing and potential tenants for long- and short-term leases. He noted that the PIIC and several communities have partnered with the Northern Maine Development Commission, which has resulted in “nationwide application.”
    Although NMDC has not obtained funding on a national level, Clark said through this collaborative effort, NMDC is within the top 12 organizations and that they’ll likely “resubmit in 2015.”
    “It puts the area and the communities participating as a priority when it comes to federal funding,” Clark said.
    Clark said his agency is working with the city’s Planning and Development Department on rezoning two areas — where the American Legion is and Fairview Acres — from business to industrial.
    Clark also discussed upcoming capital improvement projects to replace two heating systems, the purchase of a John Deere mower and how cutting can be done in half the time and the cleanup of the former Tater Meal site.
    “We also dealt with pretty substantial insurance claims — two different buildings with four claims, as a result of Mother Nature last year,” he said.
    Financially, Clark said the PIIC is holding its own, with winter storage continuing to raise significant funds.
    “We had 250 pieces stored on site at the park. It represents about $85,000 in income. We never intended to get into (storage), but it’s grown and the money we’ll take advantage of,” said Clark.
    “Budget revenue was projected at about $555,000; it looks like at the end of the year we’ll have in excess of $590,000 in revenue. Using those numbers, if we back out of appropriation and debt we’re carrying and dedicated reserves, there’ll still be a net return of $175,000 — that doesn’t included privately-owned businesses on the park,” said Clark.
    Clark said 2014 presented challenges and opportunities.
    “Those opportunities allowed us to plant seeds for long-term projects, which will be worked on for 2015, which we’re pretty optimistic about,” said Clark, noting the challenges the PIIC faces are similar to last year, and that “as always, the need for wise and prudent decisions on capital improvements” are necessary.
    “We’re limited on dollars we have. Major properties need to be kept up. It’s an ongoing attempt to find tenants for the spaces we have,” Clark said, adding that a number of spaces beyond the park are now seeking tenants. “There’s office space at the old MBNA building, KeyBank. Now we have Sears, Staples and The Crow’s Nest vacant. It’s a real challenge to all of them; I hope good things happen to all of us in 2015.”
    “I look to City Council for continued support. I want to publicly thank the board of directors and staff for being part of making Presque Isle the community it is,” said Clark.
    Following the annual presentation, Clark shared a bit of history on the area he’s managed for four decades.
    “When the military announced it was closing the Presque Isle Air Base, that’s when a group of leaders in the community got together, creating the beginning of the Industrial Council in 1961. It was formed to work with government in the disposition of the former air base,” he said.
    “When the government divided the property, 80 acres were deeded to the state of Maine where NMCC’s now located, the local school district was deeded 23 acres — the school wasn’t there during military days, just homes and barns. The military retained 110 acres where Bon Air housing and the trailer park are located. The city was deeded a total of 1,890 acres, which included three separate deeds: two airport deeds and an industrial deed — the difference in properties was, 1,440 acres for the airport was deeded for a dollar; the industrial 450 acres the city had to buy, paying $56,000. Most of that’s in the missile hangar area,” continued Clark, adding, “The big distinction between the two deeds is any land in the airport deed can’t be sold without first obtaining FAA permission; any land in the industrial deed, the city can do what they want with it.”
    Clark said two manufacturers led development at the park.
    “The first two companies located at the park — in 1962, within weeks of each other, International Paper and Indian Head Plywood (where Columbia Forest Products is today) opened. Other early arrivals included: Aroostook Shoe, Converse Rubber, Tater Meal, Milliken Tomlinson — then Wettereau. Then we had MPG Dairy, Earl’s Frozen Foods and HP Hood,” Clark said.
    “Other newer arrivals include: Acme Monaco, Cam Manufacturing, Aroostook Trusses, Dasco, and most recently, Child Development at the Fed Ex building, and Spudnik near NMCC,” he said.
    Businesses that call the park home range from light to heavy manufacturing, warehouse to distribution, offices and more.
    Clark said the park has grown considerably since the military’s departure.
    “Part of that evolution has been removing former military buildings that have outlived their usefulness. The land became more valuable than the buildings that were there,” he said.
    “We’ve cleared and taken down buildings to take advantage of the land. The Aroostook Mental Health area — except for the American Legion, those are all newer buildings. The building Mechanical Services is in is fairly new; six05, the exercising group, is new. Currie Labs and Aroostook Communications are newer businesses.  
    Long before base closings began to occur across the nation, Clark said Presque Isle served as a “pioneer in reusing a former military base.”
    “We had no book to follow. The expectation from Day One was to make sure the buildings stay intact and an effort is made to attract and retain businesses to replace the military jobs lost,” he said. “No one knew how or when we’d reach our goal, but I do believe we’ve met early leaders’ expectations and then some.”
    When asked what types of businesses are best suited for this part of town, Clark said “the interesting thing most people are not aware of is there are only two industrial zones in the city: at the park and at the former Potato Service site on the Reach Road, which is privately owned. The industrial park is here to take care of businesses allowed to be in the Industrial Zone.”
    In coming years Clark said he’d like to see continued growth at the park.
    “Looking at the future, as buildings age, we need to be looking at possibly replacing. We’ve built two spec buildings — that type of growth. We’ll continue working with businesses here, helping with growth and attracting new opportunities,” said Clark.
    Though Clark said most of the space at the park is currently occupied by existing industries or for storage, “for manufacturing we still have the Converse building at 40,000 square feet. We have the former International Paper building at a total of 90,000 square feet. Then we’d have smaller spaces at 5,000 to 6,000 square feet,” he said.
    Clark said the park is ideal for businesses, since it’s zoned for industry.
    “We have 20 lots that have been DEP approved for development. The park is adjacent to the airport, UPS and FedEx are located here, it’s adjacent to NMCC that can assist in training. Most lots are served by infrastructure — roads, water, sewer, electrical, even intermodal,” he said.
    “One of our smallest employers is Ellis Farms, with about a three-person operation, which designs and manufactures electronics for the potato industry. The largest is Columbia Forest Products, which employs dozens,” said Clark. “There are over 50 businesses and organizations that call the park home.”
    Clark said park structures are ideal for storage.
    “What makes them good is their availability, especial for large farm equipment. Not too many places can accommodate machines measuring 23 feet wide by 45 feet long. It takes a large area to store these items. We have the square footage and overhead doors to bring equipment through,” said Clark, noting, “A lot of today’s equipment have a pile of electronics. Farmers want it under cover. It’s been good for them and certainly is good for us.”
    In addition to farm equipment, Clark said cars, motorcycles, boats, recreational vehicles and more are stored annually.
    “We have quite the variety. We have approximately 200 pieces in storage. Most of what’s stored is from the immediate area: Presque Isle, Mapleton, Mars Hill, Easton. Most people storing items are within a 15-mile radius of the park,” said Clark.
    The PIIC has been successful, according to Clark, because it operates separate from municipal government.
    “We are separate, created separate from the city. To me, that has been a big part of our success. We have a separate board of directors. I have appreciated the fact that it has been a dedicated, committed, creative board of directors over the years — that’s one of the reasons we’re in the position we are in today. We’ve also enjoyed great support from City Council,” said Clark. “We don’t do these things alone.”