LWV & Islander Bar Harbor Town Council Candidate Forum
My responses (please forgive my grammar, it was all meant to be spoken)
First off, a huge thank you to MDI High School moderators, Sage Sartin and Cece Whitehead. I was delighted to see you as part of the forum.
If you are looking for a link to tonight’s League of Women Voters Forum, here it is. It was a great night for thinking about Bar Harbor’s future and how we want to move forward.
Here is the text of my responses. It’s probably no surprise, but I appreciated Michael Boland’s responses (we are both former presidents of the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce), perhaps because they mirrored many of my own thoughts about unity and opportunity; particularly, how our town is more aligned than the extremes might let us think.
**Opening Statement:**
Thank you to the Ann & League of Women Voters, the Islander for organizing this event, and Jill for moderating. I’m excited to be here tonight with you all and my fellow candidates to talk about the future of Bar Harbor.
A little bit about me: I had moved ten times by the time I was 19, so I never really knew what it meant to be from somewhere until I moved in with my brother on First South Street 30 years ago. My brother worked at Don’s (now Hannaford), and my sister-in-law went to COA. I put myself through school at UMaine while I worked at Cadillac Mountain Sports and The Burning Tree. I met my husband while hiking on the Dorr North Ridge Trail, which is still one of my top five favorite trails. All three of my kids were born here and are part of the fantastic Kids Corner, Conners Emerson, and MDI High School pipeline. Bar Harbor has given me everything of meaning in my life.
I hope I can return the favor by bringing a fresh perspective to the council with my experience in business, communications, an artist, and as a volunteer board member (I’ve pared down my volunteering and am only on the Fred and Hattie Lyman Trust scholarship and grant committee) Not for nothing, as they say, I am a middle child and mother of three. I understand what competing interests are and the need to pay attention to the various aspects of our community.
**What kind of housing does the town need? Where should additional housing go? What should the town do to advance those goals?**
The latest report from the Maine Economist RKG consultants shows that Bar Harbor is now seen as less attractive for new residents because it's getting too expensive to live here due to high housing prices, lack of inventory, and taxes. Because of that, it looks like fewer people will be interested in buying homes in this area and more in Ellsworth.
If we don’t change our course, the young people we want to populate our beautiful new school and work our jobs will not have a realistic opportunity to do that, as I did. We need to think differently about housing by correcting our land use ordinance to favor residential development instead of transient accommodations. Many people coming here for work can't afford to buy homes anymore, and unlike before, buying homes isn't as big a priority for the younger generation. So again, all signs point to rentals.
To help make things better, I think we should allow for more development in areas that already have basic services like sewer and water. I wonder how practical it is to focus our density increases in rural areas like Town Hill instead of closer to municipal services. We can continue to work towards increasing the opportunity for additional housing by allowing smaller lots, reducing the space needed per family, and letting buildings be taller. This approach would let us add more housing where it's already busy while keeping our rural areas untouched. Of course, we need to accept as a community that new neighbors will be in someone’s backyard.
If housing truly is a priority, it's time to create a referendum. Do we want multifamily housing in areas where there are services? That would be the basis needed to support land use changes in these areas for younger, year-round people and families.
**What is the right balance between residents’ quality of life and local economic opportunity? How close to balance are we? How can we improve?**
The right balance... this is such a funny word. Even the best dancer or yogi can only maintain perfect balance for a specific period. The word in and of itself implies something temporary.
I think part of our problem in Bar Harbor is that we are constantly pitting quality of life against businesses so that if one is uncomfortable, it is always the fault of the other. Perhaps this fundamental basis of our discontent should be questioned. I think it's safe to say that businesses want predictability and residents want to be able to move comfortably in our town. How can we tie the success of businesses to the pride and comfort of our residents? You see, here I have aligned our collective needs by asking it that way.
So, if we think of balance as something that can be disturbed, then shoring up the foundation, the center, is where we should focus.
We can choose to reorganize the closet to accommodate our residents and our economy. We can educate travelers to leave their cars at their accommodations, and encourage Island Explorer buses and hotel shuttles, biking and walking opportunities. We can work with the business community to brand our island and teach our visitors how special it is. This is our best path to alignment.
**An increase of roughly 15% in the town budget is anticipated this year resulting in a tax increase. Do you support the budget as presented? If not, please specify items you would reduce or eliminate. How much would that lower the proposed increase?**
I am concerned about the increase. We know the recent surge in our taxes combined with our future needs is not sustainable as a community. We do have to make changes. I know the school bond is part of the reasoning, and I proudly supported the school because good schools bring families and employees. However, our massive rise in legal fees combined with dramatic cuts in our revenue are compounding our tax dilemma.
We all can see our climate is changing, and something needs to be done. I agree that the need to act should be a priority, but that action needs to be taken in a fiscally responsible way. Doing the project cannot be more important than doing it right.
Returning the budgets to the departments and asking for a standard reduction is not something we’ve done but might be a way to move forward in the future. I think most organizations can trim excesses away.
Our local non-profits are all amazing, and I think there is a great opportunity to partner with them on the school project coming up. Every additional dollar they can contribute will be beneficial to our tax burden.
**Several ideas have been advanced to raise additional revenue for Bar Harbor, generally by shifting some of the burden to tourists. These range from lodging taxes to some sort of tourist tax per se. Which approach do you favor, if any?**
We need to remember and appreciate that we already collect millions of dollars from our visitors each season. If we want to supplement our budget further, a local options tax is the best direction for Bar Harbor. I delight in the idea that the health of our businesses would be tied to the welfare of our community.
As we know, the local options tax has been tried nearly 80 times in the legislature. Each time the efforts have been isolated and very specific or tied to things like affordable housing or revenue sharing.
The problems with aging infrastructure, lack of financial support from the state, and tourism management issues are not specific to only Bar Harbor.
What we haven't done is create an organized effort up and down the coast where we rally the other communities with similar struggles around a very basic and business-friendly effort toward creating a local options tax.
We have struggled with Hospitality Maine and the Maine Chamber, who both have lobbyists that have worked against these efforts in the Maine legislature. These two organizations need to understand that the municipalities and the businesses can help each other by opting into this tax.
I believe that a low percentage like 1% or no more than 2% will have the greatest likelihood of success. This number will also need a not-to-exceed qualifier so that businesses will have the security of knowing that this tax will not rise even though all others will. While I have heard much higher numbers suggested, some money is better than no money, and the larger organizations will work against this if they believe that businesses will lose and not gain from the efforts.
It’s important to remind the state (The State Chamber, and Hospitality Maine) how they collect taxes from lodging, food, gas, marijuana, payroll, alcohol, property, and excise but do not return funding to the very communities that create the most amount of revenue for the state, effectively hanging those communities out to dry. This creates friction between the businesses and residents up and down the coast.
**The residents of Bar Harbor are so divided now across a range of issues. How would you approach governing and problem-solving? Do you see your role as councilor as representing those who share your views? Or do you see your role as representing a broader constituency?**
I’m a team player and a mother of three with only two hands. I love collaboration. I would look first to our core. What are the primary strengths of Bar Harbor? Our natural beauty, our economy, and our schools.
How can we tie the success of businesses to the pride and comfort of our residents? How can we tie our green initiatives to our business success? Degrowth is not an option given our committed desires for a beautiful new school.
We cannot injure one in favor of the other. We’ve been doing that for way too long, and I don’t believe residents are any happier or feel that we have changed any metrics. We have gutted families who make money on vacation rentals and cruise ships and still have the same amount of traffic. This is because we haven't thought big about how to organize Bar Harbor in the way we want it to be. We’ve been thinking only about what we don’t want it to be. Those are two very different perspectives.
I understand and will represent Bar Harbor residents who want to be on the same team, Team Bar Harbor, and who are interested in converging in the middle ground. We all love Acadia National Park. We love our schools. We love basketball. We love ice cream. We want to take care of our town and our future.
**Final Statement:**
Let's organize our efforts based on our commitment to our youth, schools, and the natural beauty that defines Bar Harbor. If we view the current challenges as opportunities, we can address our primary issue with tourism—car traffic. As Ellsworth absorbs more residents and MDI remains
a key revenue source for the state, it's crucial that we reduce the number of employees commuting from off the island. This calls for improved transportation strategies like teaching visitors to avoid peak travel times, enhancing our bus system, and creating centralized parking.
Our housing focus should shift toward multifamily housing in areas with existing infrastructure to welcome younger residents and workers. This will involve modifying zoning laws to permit smaller lots and taller buildings, thus fostering a community where living and working locally is feasible for younger people.
Moreover, working from a strong foundation of quality of life and economic opportunity is essential. We must move away from blaming each sector for the discomforts of the other and instead find ways to tie business success to the pride and comfort of our residents. This includes strategic partnerships with local non-profits and sensible financial decisions concerning our town budget and potential tax strategies, such as a local options tax.
If elected, I am committed to representing all residents of Bar Harbor, focusing on unity and shared values. By strengthening our core—our schools, our environment, and our community spirit—we can ensure that Bar Harbor thrives as a beautiful, sustainable, and harmonious place to live and visit.