letter to the editor

Critical to our future

Mon, 06/25/2018 - 6:00pm

Dear Editor:

My husband Paul and I have owned Coastal Maine Popcorn for 10 years. Every year is a struggle for us to make it through the winter. Somehow, we find a way.

We are beginning to see a change in our business because of investment in our community. We have folks come in and tell us how beautiful things are looking and how they can’t wait to come back and bring other friends or family members. Tourism is our number one industry. If you take away the tourists and seasonal people, we are left with about 2,200 people to support our town on a year-round basis.

Our 18-year-old daughter just graduated with approximately 57 kids in her class. Our 7-year-old just finished first grade with 23. The numbers of young families in our town are declining. I know that some people may not feel as though this affects them, but it affects all of us.

During the last couple of years, we have thought about moving somewhere else where there are younger people. We want to stay and help it grow, but do we want to do it at the expense of our 7-year-old? Our school is losing programs and sports teams because of the low numbers in our system.

The east side zoning proposals are critical for us to keep moving forward. We have had someone come into our town and invest millions because he truly cares about our town and the people that live here. He employs over 30 people on a year-round basis. Last winter he employed over 200 people in our region. Over half of those people were local. He is the only person to invest in our community who doesn’t always need a return on his investment. The east side of the harbor has not been invested in for over 30 years. A lot has changed in that time. The expectations of tourists have changed as well.

Please, get out, get to meetings and ask questions. It is critical to our future.

Julie Roberts

East Boothbay

Boothbay Harbor business owner