CARIBOU, Maine – After nearly a decade, Caribou is seeking someone who can help the city grow economically for years to come.
Caribou has not had a full-time staff member to work specifically on economic development since 2015 when the former assistant city manager departed and was not replaced. During years of tight budgets and staff turnover, city leaders have opted for a more collaborative approach, but local critics have said that Caribou still has missed out on opportunities to grow its business community.
That’s why the city is seeking to restore the assistant city manager with a new emphasis on planning and economic development.
The position will come at a crucial time for Caribou. Several legacy businesses have changed hands or gone on the market, the latest being Frederick’s Southside Restaurant on Main Street, according to Aroostook Real Estate. As industrial growth springs up in communities like Presque Isle and Limestone’s former air base, the city wants a larger piece of the economic pie. To get there, they need to market Caribou as a unique place for entrepreneurs, industries and housing developers to invest in.
Dave Corriveau, a Caribou Planning Board and Caribou Development Committee member, helped create the new job description. He wants Caribou to sustain the businesses it has but also consider pursuing light industry and incentives to reduce the cost of building affordable housing. But the city needs someone to lead all those efforts, Corriveau said.
“Those two things [planning and economic development] work hand in hand,” Corriveau said. “We need someone who can follow through on our ideas and see a project through from start to finish.”
City Manager Penny Thompson said that she will remain the lead staff member on economic development projects, but having two employees could ensure that the city is more actively seeking out new opportunities.
As manager, Thompson primarily oversees city staff and acts as a liasion between department heads and the City Council, but she also leads grant-funded projects and has taken on code enforcement since last year. A new full-time code enforcement officer begins work June 4, but Thompson’s plate remains full.
The city was unable to hire a full-time tax assessor after Thompson, who worked as a Caribou assessor for over a decade, became city manager in 2021, so they contracted with a consultant instead. Without a staff assessor, Thompson must oversee board of assessors meetings and the city’s annual tax commitment and answer residents’ questions about the tax rate.
“These aren’t tasks a city manager would normally do,” Thompson said.
According to the job description, an assistant city manager would oversee Caribou’s planning board, zoning board of appeals, Riverfront Redevelopment Committee and the new Development Committee; review applications for new and expanding businesses; create and update city zoning and land use maps.
They would also research economic development opportunities, work with developers and city staff on development projects and help implement goals outlined in the city’s overall 10-year plan and future riverfront redevelopment and housing plans. They would report regularly to Thompson on the status of development projects.
Over the years, tighter budgets and resignations have led to fewer development positions in Caribou, leaving fewer staff members with more duties and less time to pursue large-scale projects.
Caribou’s most recent assistant city manager, Tony Mazzucco, arrived in 2012 when the City Council consolidated the roles of community and economic developer. In the early 2000s, the city’s former community development director had secured millions in funding for infrastructure and roadway improvements and downtown revitalization, but her replacement did not stay long.
When Mazzucco resigned in 2015, the city manager began taking on all economic development duties. A marketing and events director assisted with promoting the city’s assets, but many of those duties fell to Parks & Recreation after Christina Kane-Gibson left in 2021.
The City Council wants to make economic development a higher priority and thinks that restoring the assistant city manager will put Caribou in a better position to explore business development opportunities, said City Mayor Courtney Boma.
Boma would like to see the new assistant manager explore possible business ventures for outdoor recreation and tourism and other ideas that will coincide with a new 10-year comprehensive plan that city staff and the Planning Board are drafting.
“It will be much easier for us to proceed with economic development once we have a clear vision for attracting, supporting and retaining businesses,” Boma said. “Our city manager has been doing an excellent job, but it will be great to have someone who can focus on this so [Thompson] is free to work on other projects too.”
The assistant city manager’s proposed annual salary is $70,000 to $75,000. Caribou had not received applications as of Friday, Thompson said.
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