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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 7 JA N UA R Y 8 , 2 0 1 8 South Portland board OKs Avesta project Avesta Housing got the approval of South Portland's Planning Board for a $13 million, 64-unit mixed-income housing project at 586-600 Westbrook St. e Forecaster reported that the five- story building will include four floors of rental housing, with the first floor being occupied by a 4,000-square-foot retail area and office space for the Opportunity Alliance's Neighborhood Resource Hub. e apartments are expected to be avail- able for occupancy by September 2019. Avesta, which is still putting together financing, is partnering with Quang Nguyen, owner of Le Variety. e proj- ect is was designed by Kaplan ompson Architects of Portland. Midscale hotel opens in South Portland Tru by Hilton opened its newest property at 369 Maine Mall Road in South Portland. e 98-room hotel, which is owned by VanSleep LLC/Joe VanWhy and managed by InnDeavor Development Corp., is across from the Maine Mall and near the Portland International Jetport. Hilton (NYSE: HLT) said its Tru by Hilton brand was developed by using consumer and owner feedback, with a goal of appealing "cross- generationally to travelers looking for an innovative, affordable hotel experience." N O T E W O R T H Y S O U T H E R N Diversified Communications, an in- ternational media company based in Portland, completed the acquisition of Mumbrella, a brand in the digital publish- ing and marketing industry in Australia. The firm will operate as an extension of Diversified Communications Australia and will maintain its existing structure, editorial team and its journalistic free- dom and integrity. Redzone Wireless LLC, a wireless broadband company in Rockland, announced plans to incorporate mil- limeter wave spectrum capabilities in its 5GX network and to begin offering gigabit broadband speeds to resi- dential and commercial customers in selected areas of the city of Portland in the first quarter of 2018. The Rines Thompson Fund and the Frances Hollis Brain Foundation Fund, both administered by the Maine Community Foundation, awarded grants of $10,000 and $5,000, respectively, in support of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Maine's Big Readers program. Waterville to get its first microbrewery Waterville Brewing Co. plans to open a craft beer microbrewery in the Hathaway Creative Center in the city's down- town. e Waterville Sentinel reported that co-brewers and co-owners Ryan Flaherty and Eric Willett, along with their wives Candice and Amber, plan to open Waterville's first brewery in January. Ryan Flaherty told the Sentinel that initially the brewery would be open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, since all four owners have full-time jobs. It would be located on the first floor of the Hathaway Creative Center, which already houses 70 high-end apartments on its upper levels and has additional first-floor commercial space available. Naples Golf and Country Club will close After almost a century of being in busi- ness, the shareholders of the Naples Golf and Country Club have voted "to close, liquidate and dissolve the corporation." e Bridgton News reported that the shareholders of the privately held club agreed with the recommendation of its board of trustees to close the golf course. e newspaper reported that the trustees' recommendation letter cited a reduction in golfing revenues as the primary reason to close and liquidate the company. "e decision for this recommendation was inevitable," a press release cited by the newspaper stated. "After many years of effort, investment and improvements, the financial viability of the golf course operation has not improved enough and combined with the declining number of golfers visiting and supporting the golf course." e board will determine the best way to liquidate and sell off all of the assets in whole or in part, the release said. Naples Golf and Country Club was established in 1921. N O T E W O R T H Y C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N FD Stonewater and the Maine Department of Administrative and Financial Services broke ground on the 109 Capitol Street Development. When completed in 2019, the new facility will be home to more than 500 employees, comprised of both administrative staff of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services and finance and hu- man resources staff of the Department of Administrative and Financial Services. C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N Q: My business is growing. When do I know it's time to move beyond my current accounting software? ACE advises: You might want to consider the following questions about your current software. Does it: 1. Provide timely and accurate financial information? If not, am I spending a significant amount of time exporting and manipulating data in Excel to gain the financial insights I need? 2. Provide a consolidated view, if I have multiple locations? If not, am I spend- ing a significant amount of time exporting and manipulating data in Excel to consolidate the information? 3. Integrate with other software that my business uses? If not, am I spending a significant amount of time managing manual processes? 4. Allow me to automate my order to cash? If not, am I spending significantly more time to manually manage these process than I would like to? Does the lack of integration and automation result in shipping and invoicing errors and make it more difficult for customer service to research and respond to customer inquiries? 5. Allow me to automate procure to pay processes? If not, am I spending sig- nificantly more time to manually manage this process than I would like to? Does the lack of integration and automation result in lack of control over purchasing and spending, or excess inventory? Consider the cost of not having the right accounting software to support your business may far exceed the price of the software. A S K AC E A n s w e r e d b y D e a n M i c h a u d , p r e s i d e n t o f M i c h a u d A c c o u n t i n g S o l u t i o n s The Association for Consulting Expertise (ACE) is a non-profit association of independent consultants who value "Success through Collaboration." The public is welcome to attend its regular meetings to share best practices and engage with industry experts. For more information go to www.consultexpertise.com. Dean Michaud, president of Michaud Accounting Solutions in Scarborough, can be reached at consulting@michaudaccountingsolutions.com USDA school foods program boosts Maine wild blueberry sales — It's true, wild blueberries make you smarter Cheers! Portland holds onto No. 2 in list of 'city for beer drinkers' — There's gotta be a Ben Franklin quote in there somewhere New midscale hotel opens near Portland jetport — A key part of a wider strategy to get more 'heads in beds' Maine home sales up double digits in November — Good news. Now we need more housing Stitching program trains new Mainers for textile industry — For Maine's economy, this stitch in time saves nine Bangor restaurant builds greenhouse to grow its own produce — As Ron Finley once said, 'Growing your own food is like printing your own money' Arctic air mass a challenge for outdoor workers — And the winter only seems be getting worse Jeweler says snowfall didn't meet 'Let it snow' minimum — A bummer for shoppers slogging through snow Fishermen express concerns about offshore wind turbines — Who owns the ocean? Botanical Gardens pursues lawsuit over rescinded $30M expansion permit — Time for Boothbay to go back and reread its 2015 strategic plan, under 'The economy' Naples Golf and Country Club decides to close and liquidate 18-hole golf course — An estimated 800 U.S. golf courses have closed in the past decade C R E D I T S & D E B I T S

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