Dear Editor:

We are grateful for a very delicious and informative “Lunch and Learn ” gathering at the Boothbay Harbor Country Club.

Our host, Paul Coulombe, welcomed many from the Boothbay community for a time of good food and learning about the plans for the Route 27 redesign in Boothbay Center.

Seated with many familiar Boothbay faces, Paul opened with words of welcome. His heart and soul are here and his one goal is to help protect the future of our community. He reminded us that Lincoln County is the “oldest” county by population age and with that comes an expiration date! With young families not locating here, school enrollment declining and our expiration dates expiring, what will become of our community if we don’t begin to encourage growth, employment, younger families, etc. The spectacular redesign of a dying golf course has brought new light to Boothbay. Paul noted there are avid golfing families planning a move here from other parts of Maine and beyond because our new golf course is Number One. Many local residents have found seasonal jobs at the country club.

Paul explained the roundabout was not his idea. Clearly he has purchased private property around the golf course which includes future plans for the Boothbay Village encouraging new business/jobs. During his early planning stages with our devoted Boothbay town officials, Maine DOT was invited into the mix. MDOT has been studying the Route 27 corridor of public and vehicular safety issues for years and their plan includes a roundabout. Most of you know the rest of the story ... there is a brilliant flyover of the proposed re-design available on the internet.

Questions from community guests were practical, thoughtful, positive and without any derogatory finger pointing. Our hope is the 40-plus folks in attendance left the event feeling fulfilled and enlightened on the roadway redesign of Boothbay Center, The Gateway to our harbor and beyond.

On Nov. 8, we are voting YES on Questions 2, 3 and 4 with respect to the roundabout.

Bill and Sue Burge

Boothbay