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The Maine Legislature is going full throttle, as committees are charged with finishing their work this week and a few new bills are still just being printed.  We have been on defense on a few issues and have been able to support bills that move important issues forward as well.  GrowSmart Maine continues to monitor numerous bills related to our mission, and weighing in where we believe our perspective is unique and our voice might make that key difference in legislative consideration of proposed legislation. 

The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry will recognize the importance of trees in urban settings and the dedication of Maine communities to caring for those trees during its 2013 Maine Arbor Week Celebration. 

Held on Monday, May 20th at the Hilton Garden Inn overlooking the Androscoggin River in Auburn, the celebration, sponsored by the Maine Forest Service (MFS), its urban forestry program, Project Canopy, and GrowSmart Maine, will honor the civic devotion of several notable Maine residents.

If you are looking for one single measurement that captures this notion of prosperity for Maine, it would be what I hear most often when I travel across this state. We want better for our children. We want our kids to be able to live in Maine and to WANT to live in Maine. Selfishly, we want our kids and grandkids in easy distance for regular visits. Selflessly, we want to leave Maine stronger and better for them. With this bill, we have the chance to focus on major policy areas where regulations have the potential to either limit or broaden our ability to do just that. This bill provides a way to see transportation, rural lands and communities within a set of strategies to strengthen our communities and our economy in a way that conserves both working and open lands and that reduces the costs of delivering services such as transportation, health care and housing.

Last month GrowSmart Maine hosted a “Commercial Strip Convening”, bringing together representatives from 10 communities, Sustain Southern Maine participants, and several others who are working on commercial strip projects in Maine.  A shared interest in “re-envisioning” Maine’s commercial strips was the catalyst for the convening.

We strongly support the relief of property taxes for Maine residents. This benefits both Mainers and our communities. We appreciate that there are specific components directed at the unique challenges of Maine’s service center communities. I would add that the Fund for Efficient Delivery of Local and Regional Services should be funded more fully than the million dollars in the current proposal. Success builds on success, and early local efforts at regional collaboration and efficiencies will be models for other communities and other regions across the state. We have learned that a top-down required consolidation is not a lasting solution. Empower communities to find their own solutions.
We also strongly support the significant reduction in income taxes. This will improve the quality of life for Mainers and Maine-based businesses, most of which pay income taxes within the individual tax return of the owner. A lower income tax rate is also a powerful business attraction tool, because income taxes are considered as facility locations are evaluated. As important as our quality places are in recruiting businesses and individuals, lower income tax is vital as well.

As a part of our commitment to strengthening Maine’s economy, GrowSmart Maine is particularly enthusiastic about well grounded, thoughtful and creative proposals which seek to grow the economy in a sustainable manner while at the same time preserving our state’s unique character and quality of place. Fair and consistent regulations are a key component of this effort, but this bill does not achieve this goal. We believe this bill will work in direct conflict with those objectives. I say this, acknowledging the real concerns of landowners. But this is not the solution.

Members of this committee, more than most, understand that transportation infrastructure impacts all aspects of Mainers’ lives; where we live, where we work, how we get between the two as well as to where we recreate and shop. The options available to us also greatly impact our personal health, our household budgets as well as the costs for municipalities as well as state and federal governments.
We support the approach presented in this bill, with a more comprehensive Maine Public Transit Advisory Council and a renewed focus on public transportation. Maine’s population is changing. Our elders are looking for options in where and how they live, more of our young people no longer consider car ownership a necessity but rather a burden, those with disabilities are more engaged than ever in their communities and families work hard in balancing the needs of all their members. In all of these instances, a comprehensive transportation policy, with input from a diverse group of stakeholder groups will make for a stronger, more sustainable Maine.

Testimony of Nancy Smith, Executive Director of GrowSmart Maine

in favor of LD 1172,

“An Act to Support the Maine Downtown Center”

April 22, 2013

Recommendations to help Downtown Revitalization efforts in Maine

Prepared for the

Joint Select Committee on Maine’s Workforce and Economic Future