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Notes from APP and NMDC
Volume 1, Issue 51
May 31, 2013
In This Issue
LEAD Legislative Calls
Schmid Visit
Promoting Internships
LEAD dials up lawmakers every Wednesday

 

   CARIBOU - If it is 12:30 p.m. on a Wednesday during the Maine legislative session it is a good bet more than a dozen business people and economic development officials are on a conference call with members of the Aroostook delegation. Those calls are thanks to LEADers Encouraging Aroostook Development, which has facilitated the weekly conversations.

   "These calls are our opportunity to let our delegation hear directly from us on issues that our businesses and organizations are dealing with every week," said LEAD Executive Director Ryan Pelletier. "In addition, we are able to find out what's happening 'on the ground' in Augusta and know where the pressure points on the issues may be and where we as a region can rally together to make positive change"

   At the most recent legislative call 18 people, at sites in Fort Kent, Caribou, Houlton and Presque Isle, were connected with Senator Troy Jackson and Representative Alexander Willette. Other local lawmakers were busy with their respective legislative committees.

   Pelletier said an agenda for the call is prepared so legislators can be prepared to answer questions. This session focused on the Maine Care Expansion vote; road weight limit adjustments in Ashland and Marsardis; the status of L.D. (legislative document) 1059, which would place added restrictions to potential mineral mining in Maine; the omnibus energy bill, which included measures that would affect wind power in the state; and a budget update.

   Bob Clark, the executive director of Northern Maine Development Commission, sits in on the weekly updates from Augusta on a regular basis.

   "Not only do the calls give us an update on what is going on in Augusta, but allows us to give the legislators our views on particular legislation and see if we can influence it so it is a better bill for The County," said Clark.

   Clark said some questions and issues are common no matter what the session of the legislature.

   "Obviously the budget - that is always important, and highway funding has been a big issue," he said.

   "In my former position as town manager of St. Agatha, I would participate in these calls and know firsthand how critical they were for our municipalities that were facing budget implications," added Pelletier. "It also gave town leaders the opportunity to provide real life examples to our legislators about the impacts that cuts to revenue sharing or state education funding have on our local property tax payers."

   LEAD hosts the calls every Wednesday during the legislative session from 12:30 to 1 p.m. at the NMDC offices in Caribou and Fort Kent, Madawaska Town Office, TAMC in Presque Isle and FA Peabody in Houlton. For more information, contact Pelletier at 493-5771 or by email at [email protected].


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NMCC and APP team up for economic possibilities 
in Switzerland

Schmid Headquarters
   
    ESCHLIKON, Switzerland - When Northern Maine Community College selected a Schmid AG Energy Solutions boiler from Switzerland for the campus conversion to biomass, little did NMCC and County economic development officials realize that a relationship was cultivated which could potentially bring a new industry to Aroostook County.

    The Schmid boiler at NMCC was the first of its kind to be installed in the U.S. and the company had been looking for ways to market their technology further into this country and Canada. After installation of the boiler, the Schmid company president and other officials visited NMCC and recognized the tremendous forest resources in the area.

   "Our partnership with Schmid was strengthened by their trip," according to NMCC President Tim Crowley. "The company was impressed with the quality of installation which matched the efficiency of their work in Europe."

    At the same time, The Aroostook Partnership for Progress (APP) has been promoting biomass technologies and has sponsored two regional biomass fairs. So when Schmid offered Crowley airfare for two to tour their plant and view their latest technologies in Switzerland, Crowley reached out and offered to give one of the airline tickets to APP as a way of sharing an opportunity for economic development. APP and NMCC will work collaboratively to explore whether Schmid has interest in coming to Aroostook to manufacture their boilers for the American and Canadian markets.

    APP President Bob Dorsey explained, "Northern Maine Community College will show the Schmid leadership their state-of-the-art control system that has been designed to monitor all aspects of the boiler operation and see if Schmid might like to use that technology to enhance their systems. APP wants to enhance our relationship with Schmid, to explain the significance of forestry in Northern Maine, and to educate the company about the economic benefits of manufacturing boilers in our area."

    Crowley said that in previous talks with Schmid, company officials indicated they have discussed manufacturing in our region.

    "We intend to follow up on this conversation. We are gratified that Schmid is providing the funding for this trip, which will be very educational for us. It also indicates openness for earnest discussions regarding significant economic prospects," Crowley stated.

    Dorsey sumarized the trip by saying "So, the real purpose of this trip is to continue to build good relationships with Schmid and to provide them with some economic development information on the benefits of coming to Aroostook that hopefully will lead them to investigate our area further."

Tim Crowley, Dana Saucier and Bob Clark
    NMCC President Tim Crowley, NMDC forestry consultant Dana Saucier and NMDC Executive Director Bob Clark tour the Schmid facility in Switzerland.

    Also making the trip to Schmid headquarters this week are Northern Maine Development Commission (NMDC) Executive Director Bob Clark, who will already be in Europe on a personal trip; Dana Saucier, a

forestry consultant who works with NMDC; Barry Ingraham, Director of Facilities and Information Technology (NMCC); and David Cote, electrician and boiler operator at NMCC.

   Crowley said he would like to host the APP 2014 Biomass Fair at the NMCC campus and highlight both the Schmid boiler with its innovative control technology and NMCC's Alternative Energy Center of Excellence.

   Schmid has a more than 75-year history, with operations in Switzerland and Germany. The company produces pellet boilers ranging from 150 kW to 25 MW. The boiler at NMCC is 900 kW, which heats the two largest buildings on campus while replacing nearly 70 percent of the college's fuel oil consumption with local, renewable energy.

Advancing Aroostook 

   Part of the Aroostook Partnership for Progress "Education to Industry" initiative is promoting internships and job shadowing. In this installment of Advancing Aroostook we look at how an internship involving Northern Maine Community College and MMG Insurance became a full-time job.

Advancing Aroostook Interns 
Advancing Aroostook Interns