Letter from the Executive Director

Our focus in this month's issue is education. We'll write about education in the dog days of August so it'll be on your mind as the end of the month arrives and with it the opening of many schools around Maine and across the country. When I was a steward of state programs in a past life, several communities made the case to me that education is a stepping-stone to good jobs and participation in the economy and therefore schools should be able to be built using economic development monies. I did agree philosophically that a good education ought to lead to a good job but that was about as strong a connection as I was going to make at the time. In the two years that I have been running the Sanford Regional Economic Growth Council I have seen for myself, both locally and regionally, the critical need for new facilities and new programs. The first article will catch you up on Sanford's efforts to build a new $100 million integrated high school and regional technical center - the largest school construction project in Maine's history. The second one will highlight the successful collaboration between the two community colleges closest to Sanford - Southern Maine Community College in South Portland and York County Community College in Wells - and a number of private manufacturers in our region, in particular Pratt & Whitney, to establish a new program in Sanford to support the industry's long-term job creation and expansion plans in York County. I think you will agree that these two initiatives are exemplary, commendable, timely and richly deserved by the companies, communities and citizens within the Sanford Region. There is still room for your input and your participation. Please contact us if you are interested in hearing more about these efforts.

A New Integrated High School and Regional Technical Center

Recently the CEO of a world class manufacturer in our region told me that the most important economic growth initiative in Sanford Maine is the new integrated high school and technical center being developed. Many companies and individuals that we've spoken with since concur with this assessment.

In 2010, the school project was selected for funding after being rated second by Maine's Department of Education (DOE) from a list of seventy-nine proposals the department received from around the state. Last year the school board began to formulate "Educational Specifications" (EdSpecs) to describe overall program needs, the relationship between the two schools, and key design features. They hired consultant David Stephen to facilitate staff and community meetings around defining EdSpecs.

At the same time, the the city council established a nine-member Core Building Committee (CBC) to oversee the school construction project. One seat is held by me as growth council director. The CBC, after reviewing applications, interviewing firms and visiting a sample of schools in ME and NH, selected Lavallee Brensinger Architects (LBA) to lead the community through the DOE's 21-Step School Construction Review & Approval Process. The CBC also expanded citizen input to the overall process by forming a community advisory committee, focus groups and a community awareness committee. Anyone with time and interest is still strongly encouraged to participate.

A review of the existing high school-technical center property was performed by civil engineering firm DeLuca-Hoffman and the current site was found to be inadequate.  Alternative sites were reviewed and analyzed by civil engineering firm Sebago Technics and three were presented to the community. A straw poll was conducted at a community meeting in June 2013 and "Site #3" was selected (see below).



Engineers, surveyors, wetland scientists, assessors and traffic analysts are now working to create an in-depth understanding of this site that will inform development plans.  LBA continues to work with the school department and the DOE to create a Building Program that addresses space needs, curriculum and population projections.  The project will proceed through four key decision points: site approval, concept approval, district-wide approval and bid approval. Lord willing and the creek don't rise, it is anticipated that students will be entering a new world class Sanford Maine educational facility in September 2017!

The Growth Council will endeavor to share periodic updates on this project as it progresses.

A New Community College Presence and Program in Sanford

After many years on the drawing board and numerous meetings between community college staff and manufacturing personnel and their representatives, the Precision Machining Technology (PMT) program will open in Sanford Maine next month - September 2013 - at the site known locally as the "US Optical Disc Building."  The space at One Eagle Drive was most recently occupied by Maine Manufacturing, which moved into a larger Sanford facility for its expanding operations.  We are grateful to the late Charlie Lyons and to so many other people, companies, agencies and organizations that to try and list all would take more space than allowed here and likely mean someone would be omitted.  The growth council knows who you are and is very appreciative of your efforts.


Late last month, a few members of my board of directors and I had the pleasure of hosting a visit from Chris Hall, interim president of York County Community College (YCCC). We spent much of our time discussing the progress and content of the PMT program. Dr. Hall is in a growth mode at YCCC and, given the space challenges at both the Wells and South Portland (SMCC) campuses, we in Sanford are anxious to help the community colleges grow and meet the workforce market demands in our region. We were pleased to learn from Dr. Hall that plans now call for twenty-four students to be enrolled in the Sanford PMT program next month. This is double the original projections. As reported locally, graduates of the two-year associate degree program will enter the job market with an in-depth multidisciplinary education in mathematics, physics, engineering technology, manufacturing processes and methods, as well as a broad education in computer studies, business and liberal studies.

We concluded our visit with Dr. Hall by touring the facility on Eagle Drive and meeting new instructor Bob Franklin.  Bob showed us the final site renovations that will be completed ahead of school opening as well as the high tech machining equipment that has been installed (see photos).  There are additional festivities planned by the college once students arrive next month to properly showcase and celebrate the arrival of the PMT program to Sanford Maine.