Morning Sentinel
TOO EXCLUSIVE?
BY ALAN CROWELL
Staff Writer Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel 06/08/2008

OAKLAND -- FirstPark's governing board might be accepting the idea that attracting high-tech jobs is going to be harder than originally thought.

Billed as Maine's premier business and technology center, FirstPark opened in 2002, designed to attract high-tech, relatively well-paying jobs to the area.

Towns from Solon to Gardiner were among those that joined in, paying yearly dues to develop and operate the park with the understanding that as companies moved in, revenues would increase, their costs would decline and they would eventually start receiving checks from the development authority.

Since then, one tenant, cellular company T-Mobil, brought more than 750 jobs since opening its new call center in 2005, but most of the park's other tenants are local organizations that chose the location for a move or expansion.

Seven years after the park opened, revenues that the 24 member towns receive from the park are less than the fees they pay to support.

Many now say the park should be open to businesses whether or not the businesses fit with the original goals of the park's founders.

In a May 29 vote, the representatives of 20 of the 24 member towns voted down a proposed change to the park's original agreement that would have essentially prohibited facilities that are built primarily for warehouse or distribution.

That change was proposed after the park began discussions with Valley Distributors, a wholesale beverage distributor, about possibly locating in the park.

Mike Runser, president of Valley Distributors, said his company has outgrown its existing 45,000-to-50,000-square foot facility and is considering a number of different possibilities, including expanding at its current site on Belgrade Road, or building closer to Interstate 95.

Runser said FirstPark is an option, but he said no final decision has been made.

If Valley were to build at the park, however, Runser said he believed the new structure would fit in very well.

Norridgewock Town Manager John Doucette said selectmen in his town have no beef with any company locating in FirstPark, so long as it fits with the existing development and brings jobs and revenue.

"We are paying $18,000 a year," said Doucette. He said Norridgewock receives about $7,000 in revenues from it.

Doucette said selectmen are not for making any changes to the covenants that determine what sorts of businesses can locate in FirstPark, but he said the park should also have an open mind.

If high-tech manufacturing jobs are not flocking to the area, he said there is nothing wrong with considering other companies.

"We don't want a recycling plant or something like that, but anything that falls under the covenants, that can go in there would be a benefit as far as the selectmen are concerned," said Doucette.

Elaine Aloes, chairman of the board of selectmen in Solon, said her board is in favor of Valley moving in.

"Let's get tax revenues flowing," said Aloes.

Last year Solon paid almost $5,400 for FirstPark in 2007 and received almost $2,900 in revenues.

Revenues are increasing but so is the town's cost, said Aloes.

"People really so far are not happy because we are not showing a profit," said Aloes.

Craig Nelson, of Farmingdale, president of the authority's general assembly, said FirstPark has cut expenses because it understands that the member communities are facing difficult financial times.

The park does not yet have a proposal from any distributor, said Nelson, but he said that any new company would have to conform with the park's design criteria.

FirstPark is now talking to two different prospective tenants. "Certainly we would rather have technology," he said.

One difficulty the park has had in attracting high tech companies is the availability of a workforce, something that the authority has little control over, said Nelson.

The park is still committed to pulling in high tech jobs, said Nelson, but he said it is going to be more difficult than originally thought.

Still, said Nelson, the park wasn't ready for occupancy until the summer of 2002, and he said for the first two years the park had no activity because the economy was in a recession.

Despite that, FirstPark is ahead of original projections in terms of both revenue and jobs created and he said six lots have buildings on them with between 950 and 1,000 jobs.

"We are hopeful for the future but it is going to take some hard work," said Nelson.

Paul Blanchette, town manager of Fairfield, said his council has not taken a formal vote but they are not in favor of a distributor in FirstPark.

"The council sees FirstPark as being very good for all the communities in the long run. Right now it is costing us a little bit of money, but in the long run, it should more than return its investment to the communities," said Blanchette.

Many towns are concerned about the money they are spending on FirstPark, but Blanchette said he feels the jobs are the more important issue.

In Waterville, City Manager Mike Roy said a distributor moving into FirstPark would not be the worst thing that could happen but he said it would be contrary to the original intent of the park.

Letting in a distributor would essentially be competing with other industrial parks, said Roy.

It would also be contrary to how the park was originally marketed.

"What about the people who have already invested in the park. Are we holding true to what we told them?" asked Roy.

The park was created to bring jobs into the area and Roy said that if a distributor were to build a new facility there it would essentially be moving jobs from one location to another.

The bottom line, said Roy, is that the park is now ahead of its goals and there is no need to panic.

"I have every hope and every reason to believe it is going to meet what we hoped it would at the end of 20 years," he said.

Alan Crowell -- 861-9244

acrowell@centralmaine.com

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