MAINE’S WORKFORCE COMMITTEE HEARS FROM MAINE DOWNTOWN AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SUCCESS STORIES

Committee travels to Belfast and tours high-growth business built around burgeoning downtown

BELFAST—Today the Joint Select Committee on Maine’s Workforce and Economic Future traveled to Belfast to tour the Front Street Shipyard and hold a public hearing and panel discussion with local economic development and downtown revitalization experts.

“We know downtowns like Belfast attract people, businesses, and investments–this is key to strengthening our economy,” said Senate Majority Leader Seth Goodall (D-Richmond), who serves as the Senate chair of the committee. “We heard exactly this today at the Front Street Shipyard which chose Belfast due to its location and strong downtown.”

Committee chairs Rep. Seth Berry and Senator Seth Goodall at the Front Street Shipyard in Belfast

The committee began its day touring Front Street Shipyard, a world-class boat builder located in Belfast. JB Turner, an owner of the Front Street Shipyard, told the committee that the company chose Belfast because of the flat land, deep water access, and “it’s a vibrant city with lots to do.” Turner also noted that Belfast’s revitalized downtown made the city an excellent location for his shipyard.

The Shipyard opened in 2011 and currently employs 110 full time people with an average wage of $19.87 per hour–nearly three times more than the minimum wage. Turner announced that he has hired three more people who are starting work tomorrow.

During the tour, Turner noted, “People are always amazed that [we grew] so quickly but it happened because everyone worked together. The town, the community, and the business really wanted it to happen and so it was that cooperation that made the difference.”

“We know downtowns are the economic engines of our state, that they power our small businesses,” said House Majority Leader Representative Seth Berry (D-Bowdoinham), the House chair of the Committee. “Today we also learned how they attract the people who make a main street a community.”

Other speakers included Breanna Pinkham Bebb, the Executive Director of Our Town Belfast, a community downtown Main Street organization. Bebb and her husband chose to live in Belfast because of its vibrant, engaged community.

During the panel discussion, Bebb advised the committee, “If you want to attract people and dollars to your community, take care of your downtown.”

Mike Hurley, a small business owner and former mayor and town councilor of Belfast, explained that people choose Belfast because of the downtown’s resurgence. He said the city’s greatest success is that young people are moving back to Belfast.

This is the committee’s second off-site tour and listening session since the committee convened in late January.  In February, the committee toured the Advanced Manufacturing Center at the University of Maine and held a listening session at the Eastern Maine Community College with experts in workforce development.

On Friday, the committee will reconvene and continue its work session on LD 90, a proposal that includes a variety of options such as a seamless credit transfer system between the University of Maine System and Maine Community College System, reducing the waiting lists at community colleges for high-demand programs, and creating a “training pipeline” for high demand, high wage jobs. The measure also includes specific proposals ranging from better coordination of existing job training programs to creating new programs that will support workers at varying stages of career development.

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