Staff Writer
CARIBOU — The Northern Maine Development Commission (NMDC) Executive Board of Directors met on Oct. 15 to discuss topics ranging from a rail abandonment update to updating the workplace smoking policy. Denis Berube, director of planning and transportation for NMDC, attended the meeting to discuss with the board Public Utilities Committee (PUC) Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants and the status of the Montreal Maine and Atlantic portions currently for sale; should no one purchase the lines, they would have to be abandoned. According to Berube, 80 to 90 percent of Aroostook rail traffic carries forest products; resultantly, large businesses dependant on rail such as Irving could be forced to scale back production should the line be abandoned. Much of the county’s diesel fuel arrives by rail, which has local fuel companies worried.
“In one way, shape or form, this has the potential to effect everyone in the County,” Berube told board members.
Currently, rail conditions in Aroostook County are so poor in some stretches that trains travel ten miles-an-hour turning a few-hour trip into a full day production. It takes two days for a train to get from Madawaska to Bangor and, in order to get anything out of the County, rail customers have to pay a switching fee and wait for their product to be picked up at the convenience of the new rail provider.
Given the length of discussion and seemingly full agreement among board members, the need for rail in Aroostook County is hardly debatable.
“It seems to me that if California can get $60 billion in the stimulus program to build a high speed rail from L.A. to Las Vegas, we should be able to get $400 to $500 million to re-do the rails — the core — in Maine,” said board member Paul Underwood.
Berube also informed board members about potential PUC Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants.
The board approved appointments to standing committees. They also decided to make the NMDC building smoke-free within 20 feet of all doorways and entrances. The board had originally entertained the thought of going smoke-free entirely.
Executive Director Bob Clark updated the board on a USDA Rural Business Opportunity Grant for tourism that could potentially boost ecotourism and green tourism in the county.
Board members also were shown the new Aroostook County Regional Tourism Guide; a correctional insert is currently being added to the magazine providing correct information regarding nine businesses in Madawaska.
The board also accepted the agency wide revenue and expenditure statement, the NMDC loan review committee report, the ratification of two service contracts and the 2008-09 Financial Compliance Audit.
