SEARSPORT, Maine — Over the last few years, Searsport — or at least an outspoken portion of the community — has gotten a reputation for saying “no” to many development proposals that have come its way.
“No” to the massive liquid propane gas storage tank and terminal project that was proposed at the Mack Point industrial zone.
“No” to the efforts of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge and deepen the entrance channel and turning basin to the industrial port, the second-busiest in the state.
And “no” to any industrial development on Sears Island, which in 2009 was divided by the Maine Legislature into two parts — 330 acres for a new port and 601 acres protected from development with a conservation easement.
Now municipal officials want to know what kind of economic development would elicit a “yes” from the roughly 3,000 people who live in the seaside community. Toward that end, they held an economic development scoping meeting on Dec. 9 to find out what residents would like. Despite bad weather that night, about 40 people were present at Union Hall to share their thoughts with town officials, including Aaron Fethke, chairman of the Searsport Select Board.
“Certainly, Searsport at this point may have a reputation,” he said Thursday. “I’m more interested in getting some results. We’re interested in economic development. We’ve been talking about it for many years. It’s good to be doing something about it.”
The town hired David Cole, former commissioner of the Maine Department of Transportation, for a three-month stint as interim economic development adviser. Cole will help identify Searsport’s assets and also work with the town to try to reach out to the types of businesses supported by residents at that meeting and in questionnaires available at the town office.
“He knows where the doors are and how to open them. We don’t know that,” Selectman Dick Desmarais said of Cole.
He added that the two-hour long meeting generated some “good, solid ideas.” Residents shared concerns about the possibility of heavy industry and offered support for tourism, light manufacturing and improving the appearance of the downtown area.
Officials will continue to solicit ideas from the community, asking residents to fill out a written questionnaire with their ideas.
Desmarais said the town is likely to hold another scoping session around the time of the annual town meeting in March. Searsport has a lot going for it, he said, including the port, the Penobscot Marine Museum, restaurants and the town’s location along Route 1, the well-traveled coastal thoroughfare.
“We’re reviving economic development in Searsport,” he said.
“Everybody heading up the coast and heading Down East has got to go through Searsport,” he said. “The question is how to get them to stop.”