Maine Islands Coalition Minutes July 30, 2004

Present:
Roger Berle - Cliff Island
Sandy Fitch - Great Diamond Island
Mark Tierney - Little Diamond Island
Marjorie Phyfe - Peaks Island
Dexter Lee - Swan's Island
Mark Greene - Town of Long Island
Marjorie Stratton - Vinalhaven
Malcolm Donald - Cranberry Isles
Boyd Marley - Maine State Representative for District 36
Shey Veditz - GIS Specialist, Island Institute
Ruth Kermish-Allen - Education Programs Officer, Island Institute
Dana Leath - Community Development Officer, Island Institute
Bart Morrison - Chief Operating Officer, Island Institute
Garrett Martin - Genesis Community Loan Fund

The following were unable to attend the meeting, but teleconferenced in during the meeting time:
Donna Damon - Chebeague Island
Douglas Boynton - Monhegan Island
Charles Enders - Peaks Island

1. Welcome
Chairman Berle welcomed Coalition members and thanked them for coming. He acknowledged he concern of some members that the May meeting was dominated by Casco Bay concerns bout LNG. The statement made by the Island Coalition was taken very seriously at the umberland meeting on the issue, and he wanted to emphasize that regional issues are important o the Coalition as a whole.

2. Educational Consolidation
Discussion ensued regarding the statewide discussion about consolidation of school districts. Mark Tierney felt that while maintaining each town as a separate school district is expensive, consolidation at an administrative level could save taxpayers money. Mark Greene stated that Long Island currently feels no pressure to consolidate. He expressed his concern that whatever the state does about consolidation will not apply well to islands. Islands should be as independent as possible unless a move to consolidate is island-driven. Dexter Lee shared his experience, explaining that in Union 98 encompasses Swan's. Mount Desert Island, the Cranberries, and Frenchboro. As a result the superintendent reports to 7 separate school boards.

Ruth Kermish-Allen offered to compile a packet of information on the subject to distribute to Islands Coalition members.

Motion: The Maine Islands Coalition support that island communities preserve their independence and self-determination in respect to school consolidation. Motion passed with unanimous vote.

2. Cost of living study
Dana Leath reported the initial findings of the subcommittee formed at the last Islands Coalition meeting. The subcommittee met with Charlie Colgan, an economist at the University of Southern Maine, to explore possibilities for conducting an island cost-of-living study. Charlie
Colgan proposed a methodology for the study that would require monthly checks of the cost of certain items. The data collected would be used to compare prices on islands with prices in selected mainland towns (such as Portland for the Casco Bay islands, Rockland for the
Penobscot bay islands and Ellsworth for the Down East islands). USM would design the study, island residents and Island Institute fellows could help collect the data and then USM would process the data, at a cost of $130,000. Discussion ensued about the high cost of the study, and
what benefit the information could provide.

Possible benefits include:

• Adjusting HUD minimum thresholds
• Arguments for qualifying for grants, despite island incomes being higher than maximum allowable

Ways of lowering the cost of the study were discussed:

• Talking to the state and county planning offices about grants
• Finding mainland organizations interested in such information that might be willing to cost-share the study
• Possibly scaling down the scope of the study
• Using federal census data already gathered
• Considering a different methodology

The group acknowledged the value of the study, but felt that the cost was too high. Garrett Martin joined the subcommittee and offered to follow-up with the Congressional delegation and HUD. The subcommittee will meet again and, after investigating alternatives, will report back to
group.

3. Portland revaluation
The coalition discussed the looming Portland revaluation and its impact on island residents, as well as general concerns about revaluations on all islands. Some felt that town revaluations were a waste of time until after the vote on the Palesky tax cap issue. The coalition discussed the
concerns towns have about the Palesky issue. Donna Damon shared the experience of Chebeague in utilizing a financial analyst to help challenge inconsistencies in the revaluation process. The group felt that it needed to make sure that the assessment issue was kept in the
headlines through a newspaper-writing campaign.

Motion: Motion that Roger Berle, as chairman of the Maine Island Coalition, write a letter defining the issues, dilemmas, and frustrations as seen by the Coalition regarding revalution, and send to newspapers as seen fit. Motion passed by unanimous vote.

4. LNG
Ruth Kermish-Allen reported on the LNG conference at Bowdoin. She felt the forum was well attended with about 300 people. The discussion was approached from the industry perspective, then moved into laws, siting process, safety and environmental issues, and a presentation from
the energy commissioner. 40% of energy comes from LNG, if there is no supply for this demand, what is the alternative?

Donna Damon remarked that she was also in attendance, and that she felt the presentations were skewed towards LNG. The figures used were the same ones they had used at the Harpswell conference, and didn't consider other issues. She felt that the figures about jobs were
particularly misleading because they didn't consider whether Mainers were qualified for the jobs. There was feeling among conference attendees that the speakers lacked credibility.

There was further discussion about the impact of tankers traveling through the bay. The tankers are 1000 feet long, and require a no-entry zone of two miles before and after the tanker with a Coast Guard escort. Such a no-entry zone would have consequences for ferry traffic as well as
lobster boats.

Copies of the agenda from the conference, as well as PowerPoint presentations were handed out.

5. Genesis Community Loan Fund
Garrett Martin explained the purpose of the Genesis Fund, and how it could help islands. Genesis is a statewide organization serving underserved populations, and it has worked with islands around housing issues and eldercare. Genesis is working to create a fund at the Maine
Community Foundation called that will be used to match local fundraising by island communities in support of island based affordable housing and community facilities initiatives. He also wanted to get out word about the Genesis video "Against the Tide: Halting Erosion of Maine Island Communities," which has been released and hopefully will help get word out on the mainland. The video tells the story of Frenchboro, Cranberry Isles, Vinalhaven, and Monhegan and discusses the pressures that islands are under. The video is available to be shown
on islands.

6. Eldercare
Following up on Garrett's mention of eldercare, Dexter Lee asked how many islands had an eldercare facility and how it worked. Vinalhaven and Chebeague both have an eldercare system in place, and Islesboro is developing one. The systems have a lower level of care than assisted
living, but are for people who can no longer live alone but don't want to leave the island. There is a problem with staffing the facilities, and cost is a factor-they must fundraise $20-$50K annually. Donna Damon mentioned that they had some problems on Chebeague with care not
being able to be kept at advertised levels. She warned that the model needs to be flexible. Marjorie Stratton mentioned that the live-in facility on Vinalhaven was well-accepted and that it has been great for those in-between nursing home and independence and allows them to stay
close to family on the island.

7. Organizing the Coalition around issues
Concern was raised about how the Coalition would communicate around issues should a large issue like LNG arise. The group agreed that meeting three times a year is doable and that the rest of communication should be over e-mail or over the telephone. Issues can be brought to Dana Leath, who can e-mail members as a whole. Also, emails can be sent "reply to all" so as to include all Coalition members in email dialogues. The desire was expressed that discussions that ensue between the meetings occur over e-mail instead of the phone, so that there is a written
record.

8. Health issues on islands
Malcolm Donald raised the issue of health problems on islands, especially alcoholism and drug problems. Mark Greene said that Long Island has a "Changing Tides" group which provides anonymous help to those wishing to enter recovery. The service is confidential and the service is
funded by donations and fundraising. Donna Damon shared that there used to be an Alcoholics Anonymous group on the island, but it died down. She also mentioned that all recreational center activities are alcohol-free. Garrett Martin brought up that domestic violence is tied to the
alcohol and drug issues, and that perhaps the Seacoast Mission could be involved in efforts. Another health issue is obesity on islands. Several island have active Weight Watchers groups, and Donna Damon shared the success of Chebeague's fitness center, which was so successful
that, with the help of a USDA development grant, the fitness center was doubled in size and outfitted with USM's old equipment. Camp Chebeague-a day camp that brings out children from the mainland-helps bring in revenue to operate the island's recreation center. Following this was a brief discussion addressing the challenges of law enforcement on islands, with some islands utilizing full- or part-time police in the summer. Constables need to have a 100-hour training course. There is resistance to having an islander serve as law enforcement,
and there was agreement that an outsider does a better job.

9. Minutes
Dana Leath read corrections for the minutes of the last meeting. They were approved by unanimous vote. It was decided to approve minutes via e-mail from now on, so that approved minutes could be shared with Selectmen and posted on the website in a more timely fashion.

10. Next meeting
The next meeting date was set for November 12th, 2004, 10:00am to 2:00pm. Phone and e-mail meetings will occur as necessary.