Mainebiz

V O L . X X I X N O. X X I S E P T E M B E R 1 8 , 2 0 2 3 6 US grants aimed at increasing Maine exports e Maine International Trade Center will receive $350,000 in fed- eral money to boost exports by the state's small businesses.e funding will support activities such as par- ticipating in foreign trade missions, market sales trips, international marketing campaigns, participat- ing in export trade show exhibits, and attending training workshops. e money comes from the U.S. Small Business Administration's State Trade Expansion Program and is part of $20 million in grants awarded to 49 state and territory international trade agencies. Since 2020, more than 60 small businesses in Maine have received financial assistance to support their interna- tional exporting, resulting in $6.9 million in actual sales and an addi- tional $76.3 million expected in the next 12 to 18 months. N O T E W O R T H Y S T A T E W I D E The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Region 1 awarded a to- tal of $3 million from the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program to Maine to fund the development of plans and innovative strategies to cut climate pollution and build clean energy economies. U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded Community Concepts in Oxford and Franklin counties a total of $6.6 million and Kennebec Valley Community Action Program a total of $4.3 million for Head Start and Early Head Start pro- grams. The grants were awarded through the HHS Administration for Children and Families program. UScellular donated 150 wireless hotspots and two years of ser- vice, valued at $168,900, to Hope & Justice Project in Houlton as part of its After School Access Project. The company also donated $32,300 to Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Waterville to support K-12 STEM and academic enrichment programs. Bar Harbor report addresses shortage of year-round housing B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r B ar Harbor will need 616 new year-round dwelling units by 2033 to offset the effect of housing stock turned into short-term rental units, according to an analysis by town staffers. Over the years, the town has registered 637 short-term rentals, which has siphoned off housing that otherwise could have been used as year-round shelter for area work- ers and students. "The number of new units [needed] is approximately the same as the number of short-term rentals," said Town Councilor Gary Friedmann. "That's not a coincidence. You can see what's happened to our housing stock. It's gone into being commercialized." The analysis came at the request of the Bar Harbor Town Council, which reviewed the findings at its meeting in early September. The goal was to get data on total numbers of housing units of all types. Council members said they'd also like to consider a mora- torium on the conversion or construction of new short-term units, in favor of incentivizing the creation of year-round units. "There's been a lot of talk since the last council meet- ing around a temporary halt to new transient accommoda- tions," said Friedmann. Since June 2020, the town has passed nine land-use ordinance amendments aimed at removing barriers and incentivizing the creation of short-term and seasonal hous- ing. That included units that fall under categories such as employee living quarters, shared accommodations and short-term rentals. Some questions remain to be answered, such as to what extent employer-provided quarters are seasonal versus year-round. Bar Harbor's year-round popu- lation is 5,269 as of the latest census. But at any given time during the peak of tourism, the population exceeds 30,000. About 10,000 are day-trippers. There's also a student population at College of the Atlantic and employ- ees who need seasonal quarters. A number of construction proj- ects are in the pipeline to accom- modate various types of living accommodations. Among them: The local YWCA has recently purchased 27 acres to build affordable rental housing. The town earlier this year approved a plan by hotelier Witham Family Hotels to build employee living quarters for 16 employees. Mount Desert Island Hospital has begun construction on a residential facility for eight medical education stu- dents and residents. Acadia National Park is eyeing a 3-acre parcel it owns to develop rental housing for up to 60 of its seasonal employees. A year ago, Jackson Laboratory officially opened a new workforce housing complex with 24 units. Island Housing Trust recently completed a 10-home affordable housing neighborhood on the outskirts of Bar Harbor. Between 2018 and 2022, with the exception of 2021, the number of permits issued for new dwelling units ranged from 34 to 47 per year. For the first seven months of 2023, 26 new dwelling units were permitted. But these and other plans are not enough, said councilors. "If we're going to get to 616 new units in the next 10 years … we need to find ways to encourage more building," said Councilor Matthew Hochman. "This is going to take a long time," said Councilor Joe Minutolo. "It took us a long time to get here. It's going to take us an awfully long time to get out of it." B U S I N E S S M A I N E Business news from around the state S T A T E W I D E P H O T O / L A U R I E S C H R E I B E R B R I E F It took us a long time to get here. It's going to take us an awfully long time to get out of it. — Councilor Joe Minutolo Bar Harbor will need 616 new year-round dwelling units by 2033 in order to offset the effect of housing stock turned into short-term rental units, according to an analysis by town staffers.

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