Why I love this community

This will no longer be the nor southeast corner of a 62,000 square foot commercial structure thanks to the very hard work and dedication of hundreds of Freeport residents who believe our town's rural character needn't be sacrificed while striving to be accommodating to Maine's most dynamic businesses. Our Council did the right thing last night in keeping their eye on the future.We are a growing community, with room for growth in areas that have the needed services that the commercial sector requires for their development. I am hopeful that Coastal Soccer will find a suitable place to site their business in our town, and confident that we can find a place for them as good neighbors.

What the hell. Can't anybody just say this is heinous?

Freeport, Maine, home to outlet stores for many nationally known enterprises. Freeport, Maine, a pretty town of 7600, with woods and trails and good people, and home to one embittered person, whose poorly constructed and repulsive compendium of slander and disturbing images clipped from some of the darkest episodes of the American experience, is distributed weekly in the foyer of the Town Hall.

Strange fruit is being hung on Freeport’s Christmas tree in 2011 by some anonymous individual. He or she has been distributing the home-made publication “A Crow’s Nest” at various retail locations throughout town, as well as in the Town Hall foyer. Locations where the children and grandchildren of the people he or she slanders with false tales of unspeakable vileness may see their relatives unfairly and horribly pilloried. No one has acknowledged their authorship of what they call a “parody look at the news”. 

I've had it. I've refrained from posting the shit until now, but In their last effort, they actually had the brass to include a page that makes it look as if the owners of local businesses are supporting his “journalism” through advertising. A sample of their idea of humor is at the right.  Does anyone fucking care??

The Maine Attorney General’s office and the Freeport Police Department have been informed about this publication, and have advised that no actionable criminal offenses have been committed by the author in its production. Still, I doubt any decent citizen could view the images and language it contains speaks well of anyone associated with it. 

“A Crow’s Nest”,  is a heinous blot on the landscape of this town. Please do not let the good name of your business be tarnished by a false and improper association with the ravings of a seriously disturbed individual. Please speak out in any way you can. Silence is complicity.

A company town

When discussing the contribution of the business sector to the economy of Freeport, it's nice to remember that one company owns 51 parcels of land on the tax rolls: L. L. Bean. The real estate valuation on that property totals $140,750,380.00. If taxes on Bean's property is taxed at the town mil rate of $15.10 per thousand, that amounts to $2,132,368, or 38.7% of the total collected from property taxes, which The 2011 Town budget shows as $5,514,152. Total revenues in the 2011 budget are shown as $9,265,559. Bean's share of that is 23%. Don't forget, that does not include business fixtures taxed as property, which I reckon is quite a bit, and likely quite a bit more than any other business in town. L. L. Bean is also a major employer, providing jobs and income for many residents.

Sande Updegraph, the executive Director of FEDC tells us the business contribution to town revenues is 30%. By my back of the envelope calculation, Bean's share of that 30% is 76.7%. Just thought I'd illustrate in numbers just how big that Gorilla is, in case anyone had any doubt.

Freeport is fortunate as a town of 7,869 to be home to the second largest private employer in the state. As such, we enjoy substantial revenues provided by such a successful company's property taxes. We also incur additional costs other towns not similarly blessed needn't provide for in the form of additional fire and police protection to cover the needs and contingencies millions of customers and employees require in their daily visits to town.

That L.L. Bean is such a great company and responsible neighbor is a boon to our larger economy. Other businesses and residents alike should keep in mind the key role Bean plays in making Freeport the unique small Maine town it is. I added up the valuation based on the numbers presented here, linked to from the Town web site. The property owner to look up is BEAN LL INC. The 2011 Town Budget is here.

Dynamic Sideways Growth

From the Portland Press Herald, September 7, 2011:

Freeport retail is moving and shaking
Olympia Sports will relocate to a plaza that has been mostly vacant, and other openings are in the works...
Olympia's existing Freeport store -- in the Shaw's Shopping Plaza at 200 Lower Main St., near Exit 20 of Interstate 295 -- will close before the new store opens, said Olympia President Richard Coffey of Windham....

"Olympia is going to bring a lot of energy to the area north of L.L. Bean," [Freeport Economic Development Corporation executive director Sande] Updegraph said. "It will be a strong anchor for that complex."
emphasis added.

And another vacant space and energy suck for Shaw's Plaza. Woo hoo!