By Jon A. McLaughlin
Southern Aroostook Development Corp. Executive Director
As I have said many times, when speaking about what I do, if you asked 10 different people what economic development is, you would get 10 different answers. Yes it has a dictionary definition: “Economic development generally refers to the sustained, concerted actions of policymakers and communities that promote the standard of living and economic health of a specific area.” But as you can see from the official definition, even this leaves a lot of room for interpretation.
When most people think of economic development, they think of new job creation; the plant that is built that adds 10, 50 or a 100 jobs. They may think of existing businesses that add some new employment or they think of the diversification to the tax base that construction of a new building makes – all important aspects for sure.
It is my belief that one of the most important aspects to successful economic development is not entirely jobs or infrastructure, but, rather, as the definition says “the sustained concerted actions of policymakers and communities.”
To this end, I believe that Houlton has been very successful the past few years. Under past administrations, the council has taken a hard look at itself and has reinvented itself. Going from a contentious group that had long, unproductive meetings that were the talk, negatively, of the town, county and, indeed, state, to a more concise, pro-business group that has streamlined meetings, developed Tax Incremental Financing and other pro-business incentive policies and has become much more proactive.
The new administration has carried on the torch to keep Houlton proactive in business development and the council has, followed suit, as evidenced by a recent workshop that creatively took a look at the North Street water and sewer expansion, discussed it in great length and came to the unanimous decision that the project should continue to keep the U.S. Route One corridor viable for future development.
It is actions such as this that now make the region, county and state stand up and take notice of Houlton. Not as the place that nothing can get done, but Houlton as a place that is very much turned around and a force to be reckoned with.
But it is not just good policy that is driving Houlton’s revival.
A few weeks ago myself, Houlton’s Community Development Director, Lori Weston and the Greater Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, Jane Torres, were approached by the Houlton Pioneer Times to periodically do a series of articles for the paper. Weston and Torres’ articles have appeared in this paper the past two weeks.
Both articles were extremely well written and although each came at development from differing perspectives, both had an endearing theme throughout them – the great positive attitude about the area as seen from the authors’ eyes.
Oftentimes, people that are very upbeat and positive are viewed by many as being naive. However, I can assure you that Lori and Jane are not naive. They know that not everything is perfect with the town or area. No town is. But they know the power of being positive outweighs the destructive power of extreme negativism every time. They are simply being great ambassadors for the town, the county and the state.
It is much harder to be a positive, upbeat person all of the time, but its rewards pay much larger dividends than being negative. To quote an old adage, positive folks tend to say that their glass is half full, whereas folks destined to be negative in nature always think their glass is half empty.
To a person, or business for that matter, from away that is looking at the region, what do you think they rather hear about; all the great things that are happening in this region or grumbling that nothing is right with the area. How things are presented and the ultimate importance of the issue in the overall scheme of things is crucial.
For public perception and the ability to present the town in a good light I present this example. Ask yourself, “What sounds better and is more important in the long run?”
We have a town police force that is excellent. Crime rates in Houlton are among the lowest in the state and, indeed, the nation and we have a police chief that was recently awarded Chief of the Year. Or “All our police do is drink coffee and ride around needlessly.”
The first statement is true. The second statement may or may not be true, as I have no statistical evidence to back it up. Which statement do you think needs to be broadcast more heavily and is more important to portraying Houlton in a good light? If the second statement were true, it simply would have to be brought to the chief’s attention to be looked at. It wouldn’t need public scrutiny.
Positive attitudes are a lot like a virus, a good virus if you will. They are catching and keep you upbeat and when folks are upbeat, good things happen to them, the folks around them and ultimately the community. Negative attitudes are like the flu, they drag you down. Hear them enough and negative things start to happen.
If all of the negativity that may lurk behind the scenes were turned into positive thoughts and the folks volunteered for groups, committees and worked to truly make a difference, there is nothing this community could not accomplish. This is simply what Lori and Jane understand as great ambassadors for our area.
The administration and council have worked hard over the past few years in their policymaking to become more upbeat and positive and the attitude of the citizenship at large has also changed and Houlton is better off for it today and our future looks bright.
With these changes that have developed, you have an excellent platform from which economic development can and is thriving for Houlton.
