I have drafted my own thoughts on the subject, and incorporated many of the themes I have heard at the aforementioned public hearing, as well as comments raised by department heads. I have kept these recommendations in a draft form, in order to facilitate changes by the Board. I hope the Board will consider these recommendations as part of their final comments to the Plum Creek Timber Company and LURC regarding this project.

1. Overall
The Plum Creek proposal offers some significant opportunities and also could have serious impacts on the Town of Greenville, both positive and negative, for years to come. It is unusual for a landowner to come forward with such a plan, and to reach out to whole communities for input regarding how best to develop their land. The chance to comment and to make suggestions to Plum Creek should be appreciated, and embraced in order to best protect the Town from the negative impacts of the plan and to enhance the Town through the opportunities offered.

The recommendations offered here are focused on the effect of the plan and/or its revisions on the Town of Greenville, not the entire region. Some of these recommendations would impact the entire region, but the suggestions here are meant to consider Greenville. Therefore, some comments heard at the Town's public hearing on this matter, like some of the comments heard at the various scoping sessions, may not be included.

2. Public Access & Conservation
Currently, the public enjoys open access to Plum Creek land in the Moosehead Lake Region and beyond through the company's “open lands” policy. This policy allows the public to cross over Plum Creek's lands and roads without little or no regulation: this policy is consistent with that of previous owners of this land base, such as Scott Paper Company and Great Northern Paper Company.

Through proposed zoning, the majority of this land base – about 98% - will be restricted from hosting future development, even if the land is sold during the period to someone else. The zoning will disallow development even by future owners. Critics of the plan suggest that the 30-year window for the plan means that the conservation aspects of the plan are not permanent. To make the conservation permanent, I suggest one of two mechanisms: conversion of some of this land-base to a conservation easement, and/or a planning document which outlines the intentions of the future use of the land base. The current plan states that alterations to the plan after the initial 30-years may only be allowed by LURC and only if they are of public benefit. I would suggest strengthening this further to say that the public benefit must be consistent with the planning document for the region.

One important aspect of this planning document should be an assessment of natural resource recreation areas, and their access points, on this land base. If an area is to be developed, provision should be created to allow for permanent access to the resource in question (i.e., water body, cultural amenity, recreational trail, etc.). Therefore, any future changes proposed could be weighed by LURC in 30 years to see if the suggestions are consistent with this planning document.

Specific recommendations for public access and conservation would be:

1. Development of a planning document for the land base which would describe the intended methods of accessing the land to reach points of interest and importance by the public. Such a document would not bind the company to adhere to their open lands policy, but would cite that and other methods employed by Plum Creek to allow public access. When the plan is considered for renewal in 30 years, these methods for public access or equivalent methods should be considered by LURC as part of any changes to the plan (even if someone other than Plum Creek owns the property at that time).
2. Development of an asset list for natural resources of public interest and recreational value which require continued or expanded public access to remain beneficial to the community and to the economy. Such assets should be listed in the aforementioned planning document.

   3. Value-Added Wood Products Manufacturing
   Most of the wood baskets in the Moosehead Lake Region are owned by Plum Creek. In order to develop any new wood-products manufacturing company, access to this stumpage must be secured. Also, the availability of this wood fiber must be quantified if it is to be marketed at all. The following are suggestions for how Plum Creek could assist in developing more value-added wood products manufacturing in Greenville, and avoid having the raw logs from our region be shipped out of the region, or even out of the country:

   1. Assist in the creation of, and consider becoming a member of the proposed Greenville Wood and Wood products Cooperative (see attached planning grant proposal for the same from 2004, listed in the attachments as Item #2).
   2. Assist the Town of Greenville, the Composites Technology Centers Corporation, the University of Maine's Advanced Wood Composites Center, the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council, and the Somerset County Economic Development Council, Eastern Maine Development Corporation, the State of Maine Department of Economic and Community Development and other partners with a sophisticated marketing effort to attract a value added wood products manufacturer to the region, preferably in either the Greenville Industrial Park or at the proposed Sapling Sawmill Site. The request would be for development of a package to market – wood fiber opportunities, site opportunities, tax incentives, technical assistance, by all partners – and also some funds to pay for media to advertise this message, and familiarization tours for prospective companies. Furthermore, the Town should ask Plum Creek if they would consider development of a value-added wood products plant themselves.
   3. Assist in the development of the Greenville Industrial Park as outlined in the attached 2003 Improvement and Expansion Plan (listed as Item #3). In particular, provide assistance in the acquisition of land for expansion of the Industrial Park from the State of Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands (as approved by the legislature).

   4. Transportation
   Under the heading of transportation, several media come to mind: public roads, private roads, bicycle paths, hiking trails, boat landings, snowmobile trails, ATV trails, airport, rail access, automobile traffic congestion, compatibility of modes of transportation. As the Moosehead Lake Region develops, many of these modes and the infrastructure necessary to accommodate them will need to be enhanced or created. It is important to note that these issues will need to be addressed regardless of the disposition of the Plum Creek plan: development is occurring now, and will continue in the region with or without this plan.

   The Town of Greenville and other affected communities / governments will need to address these issues. Listed here are some specific ways in which Plum Creek could mitigate negative impacts of their proposed development on Greenville, and also some means of enhancing the modes of transportation already in use within the region:

   • The Town of Greenville should solicit the assistance of the MDOT's planning division to review current traffic congestion in our Downtown area and work on devising a solution. The work of Eastern Maine Development Corporation on behalf of Plum Creek regarding the impact of the plan on services in Greenville should be used to assist in this effort. If there are inherent costs to have such technical assistance from the MDOT, the Town should request that LURC require financial assistance from owners of large proposals such as (but not limited to) Plum Creek. Suggestions heard at the recent public hearing on the effect of regional development, as well as from comments from business owners and residents later indicate a host of possible solutions, all of which should be considered.
   • Multi-mode access trails should be developed from downtown Greenville and Greenville Junction to outlying areas of interest. Existing snowmobile trails and ATV trails should be improved where possible to accommodate other modes, such as walking, hiking, running, and mountain biking. Use-specific trails should also be developed, such as a cross-country ski trail connecting the Greenville Schools to outlying areas, and single-track Mountain Bike trails, peak-to-peak hiking trails, etc., should all be developed in a manner which brings the trail user to downtown Greenville or Greenville Junction. To accomplish this, there should be a trail authority / land trust developed in Greenville to be able to hold assets such as real property or easements to cross private property, and also to receive funds for trail development and maintenance. It would be helpful if Plum Creek would assist in the development of such a trail authority / land trust through both technical assistance and possibly seed funds to get started. Also, it would be appreciated if Plum Creek would continue its tradition of in-kind donation of equipment time and materials (i.e., gravel) for trail development.
   • A specific stakeholders group for hiking trails should be convened within the region to develop plans for trail location, construction, and maintenance, as well as trailhead development and parking, using the Plum Creek plan as a start, but becoming a more permanent group. Such a stakeholders group might become a committee of a larger land trust working within the region. Plum Creek could assist such a hiking trail group in two ways: altering the language in the plan to allow more time for trail relocation to accommodate Silva culture activities, and provide seed money for initial trail lay-out and marking, and possible trailhead construction. If the company would assist with a trailhead location and development, it would facilities trail construction, and would encourage development of such trail systems.
   • A specific stakeholders group for bicycle trails should also be convened, again possibly as a part of a larger land trust for the region. Bicycle pathways along existing state and local roads, as well as woods road and off-road (single-track) mountain bike opportunities should be included in the plan, all connected to Greenville. Specifically, Plum Creek should assist the Towns of Greenville and Beaver Cove, as well as Piscataquis County, in seeking and receiving MDOT Transportation Enhancement Funds for construction of a bicycle path from downtown Greenville to Lily Bay State Park. It would be helpful if Plum Creek would contribute to the 20% local match requirement for such a project.
   • Snowmobile Trails remain a mainstay for Greenville's winter economy. Permanent snowmobile trail routes and, where possible, alternate routes, need to be protected through easement. It would be helpful to have Plum Creek work with the Town of Greenville and other land owners and other snowmobile stakeholders to develop a NETWORK of permanent snowmobile trails around Moosehead Lake, both on and off Plum Creek land. Also, these trail development efforts, where appropriate, should mirror similar efforts with ATV route construction, in order to maximize the use of public and private funds. One possible series of solutions for Snowmobiling in the Moosehead Lake Region are listed in the Snowmobile Initiative listed in the attachments as Item #4.
   • Resort Development, wherever it occurs, should include public multiple-mode transportation routes between Greenville and the resort. For example, if a resort were to be developed in Lily Bay, a bicycle path along the Lily Bay Road should be constructed to connect the resort to Greenville. Likewise, the company should consider a means to provide a landing for the Steamship Katahdin between its Greenville base and the proposed resort. If a resort were to be developed in the Squaw Mountain area, the existing snowmobile trail (paralleling Route 15) across the Little Moose Unit of the Bureau of Parks and Lands should be enhanced to accommodate year-round use for hikers, bicyclists, etc. If possible, the new ITS snowmobile route which travels around the back-side of Squaw Mountain and connecting with Greenville Junction might become the route for motorized traffic, and the “front-side” of the mountain might become the route for non-motorized traffic, both routes connecting to the proposed resort and other area businesses.
   • As the Junction Wharf is the only current public boat landing for Moosehead Lake south of the Rockwood facility, and as this facility will likely experience greater demand as more development occurs, the Town of Greenville should request Plum Creek's assistance in reconstructing and enhancing this facility (a copy of the Junction Revitalization Plan of 2001 is attached). In particular, either direct funding assistance or acquisition and subsequent donation of suitable land nearby for trailer parking would be of great benefit. It should be noted that direct expenses for capital improvements such as this could be funded through a regional infrastructure development fund, but in the absence of such a fund, more direct means of assistance are recommended.
   • Woods Road Access is a significant benefit to the public now, especially on Plum Creek lands. One possible solution for making such roads permanently accessible by the public would be to develop a camp or homeowners' association which could benefit from public funds much like the Town of Greenville receives funds through the Local Road Assistance program of the MDOT. One such proposed program – the Woods Road Access program – has been included in the final report of the Governor's Task Force For Access To Lands in the State of Maine. A draft of the program as proposed is attached. It would be useful for the Plum Creek to consider deed covenants in their subdivisions which would address this program, or otherwise seek similar effect by allowing the public to cross over certain roads which lead to desired points of interest, even if camp development occurs along or nearby these roads.
   • The Greenville Municipal Airport is growing and will be a key to major development efforts in the future. Any assistance Plum Creek could lend with the development of the airport – perhaps with the current efforts to build an arrival's building, or through advocacy for future state and federal funding of the airport – would only enhance the airport for current and future use.

5. Solid Waste
The proposed re-zoning of land in the region by Plum Creek will make possible new commercial and new residential development, all of which will have an effect on our solid waste systems. It should be noted that not all of the development – perhaps only ½ of the proposed development or less – will occur in areas which utilize the Town of Greenville's landfill, recycling center, or septage waste land spreading site. Only the communities of Greenville, Shirley, Beaver Cove and the UTs of Big Moose Twp., Moosehead Junction Twp., and Harford's Point Twp. utilize these systems.

In regard to solid waste issues, I recommend the following:

1. The Town of Greenville should utilize the data and conclusions regarding solid waste issues prepared for Plum Creek by Eastern Maine Development Corporation to determine what the impact of this development will likely be on Greenville's solid waste systems. If necessary, the Town should commission our own engineers for solid waste issues (CES, Inc.) to review these conclusions, cross-reference them with BOTH our own volume history for these facilities and the growth in developed commercial and residential parcels in the region over the past 15-20 years. In other words, how has the use of the landfill grown in relation to the growth in developed parcels in the aforementioned region? Once this correlation is made, the impact to our system by the proposed development can be better quantified. The Town might consider asking LURC to request funds to pay for such a study from applicants for development within the target area, including but not limited to Plum Creek.
2. Once these impacts are quantified, the Town might consider requesting of Plum Creek assistance in mitigating these impacts. In regard to the landfill, Plum Creek might contribute financially or in-kind with an appropriate donation of land for the development of a transfer station, or for a new septage waste land-spreading facility. Such development of new facilities could also be financed through the proposed regional infrastructure fund, or through a land-trade between the State of Maine and Plum Creek.
3. . Deed covenants and physical plans for subdivision for Plum Creek should make provision for solid waste receptacles – such as dumpsters – which would be the responsibility of the homeowner's association. Also, should Plum Creek develop residential subdivisions in the Town of Greenville, provision should be made not only for dumpsters, but also for easements to cross subdivision roads with school buses and contractor's equipment for rubbish pickup. This would allow this service to occur without the road being converted into a Townway.

6. Taxation and Impact Fees
The entire Plum Creek plan as currently exists outside of the borders of the Town of Greenville, therefore foregoing any property tax revenue for our community. The Town of Greenville and the Piscataquis County Commissioners and the Maine Service Centers Coalition have all endorsed a plan which would enable a region such as ours to create a Regional Infrastructure Fund which would be funded initially by impact fees for new development in the region, and then annually through the capture of some new property tax revenue from land splits, property renovation and property construction within the region. The proposal is attached. Plum Creek could assist the Town of Greenville greatly by promoting this concept through their plan to encourage enabling legislation for this to become possible.

7. Emergency Services
In addition to the use of funds from the proposed Regional Development Fund, there are a host of issues which could be addressed by changes to the Plum Creek plan:

1. All residential and commercial development, as a condition of sale and / or through deed covenant, would require compliance with municipal and county Enhanced-9-1-1 Street and Address Numbering Systems. In other words, it would become a requirement by deed covenant that new homes would properly display street numbers on their residences to aid emergency service providers in finding them.
2. Dry hydrant systems would be installed in rural subdivisions in consultation with the Greenville Fire Department.
3. Major commercial developments, such as resorts, would require a separate planning process called site location of development. This process would specifically address the impact of such development on emergency services and other public services. Such a process would necessitate some form of provision to pay for added emergency service calls, such as through the annual funding toward the replacement or upgrade of a police cruiser or ambulance or fire truck. This would likely be negotiated between the Town of Greenville, Piscataquis County, CA Dean Hospital, and the developer through the LURC process.
4. Should Plum Creek develop any of their land near Big Squaw Mountain Resort, and if their development resulted in bringing electrical power to the top of the mountain, it would be extremely helpful if Plum Creek would provide a power supply to the emergency radio repeater located at the top of Squaw Mountain. If power were brought to this location, additional radio frequencies could be utilized from this tower, increasing the capacity of emergency service providers to communicate throughout the entire region.
5. Plum Creek, with their massive land base which is often used for outdoor recreation, could work with area service providers to provide designated trailheads / parking areas / helicopter landing zones which could be used as designated (and GPS coordinated) staging areas to certain backcountry destinations. Such areas would require minimal development, but could become commonly known and used by emergency service providers over four seasons.

8. Visitor's Center and Outdoor Education
There is a need for a region-wide visitor's center, preferably located at the entrance to Greenville, which serves as the gateway to the Maine Woods. The Natural Resource Education Center (NREC) has an evolving plan for a facility to be located off Route 15 at the entrance to Greenville. There are also discussions underway to create some form of outdoor education facility as part of the Greenville School Campus. Such a center could not only host as variety of outdoor education providers who would offer fee-for-service opportunities to the general public, but would also integrate such services into the K-12 curriculum. Such well-known groups as the Appalachian Mountain Club and the Maine Winter Sports Center have each already integrated some of their programming into the Greenville Schools through local coordinating groups such as NREC or the Evergreen Enrichment Collaborative (EEC).

Plum Creek could assist in these efforts by participating in the development of the proposed Natural Resource Education Center (NREC) and also a version of the Maine Winter Sports Center, located either on campus or at a nearby location with trails connecting the facilities. One such vision for how this could be accomplished is detailed in the attached proposal for a “Moosehead Outdoor Leadership School”.

9. Resort Development
Again, all resort development is assumed to require Site Location of Development permitting, which requires a precise and detailed accounting of any impacts on municipal services and how these impacts would be mitigated. Plum Creek could improve the benefit of such a resort or resorts by considering the following:

1. Consider locating the primary resort at or near Big Moose (Squaw) Mountain, possibly to eventually become integrated with the existing Big Squaw Mountain Resort.
2. In general, bring all such resort construction closer to Greenville.
3. Entertain resort development WITHIN Greenville in appropriate locations (possibly purchasing shorefront land or trading land with existing landowners).
4. MAXIMIZE trail construction and other transportation routes between any planned resort and Downtown Greenville or Greenville Junction.

10. Special Events
Plum Creek has already sponsored one major event within our community – the 100-Mile Wilderness Sled Dog Race. Plum Creek's contribution allows this year's purse to grow to $5,000 for sled dog teams mushing between Greenville and Brownville. The Town of Greenville thanks Plum Creek for this sponsorship, and hopes the company will consider other event sponsorships in the future.

11. Affordable Housing
Perhaps the most important aspect of the Plum Creek plan for the Town of Greenville is provision for affordable housing development. Also called “workforce housing” or “community housing”, the intent is to locate and to develop appropriate sites for residential subdivision within the Town of Greenville, to allow a public entity such as the Town, the County, or a non-profit organization, to own the subdivision and to sell land / homes for families looking to settle within Greenville. Mortgage covenants and other mechanisms will be used to prevent conversion of the properties to non-residential uses, and to prevent inflated sale of the properties. Once established, the program will allow individuals who wish to live in our community the opportunity to purchase a new home at roughly the cost of construction, but to prevent the accrual of value on the property beyond the rate of inflation.

Plum Creek may help in this effort in multiple ways, including:

1. Purchase and donation of appropriate land for subdivision for such residential housing development within Greenville, preferably within the water and sewer districts.
2. Assistance in the cost of site selection and development by the public sector (i.e., engineering and surveying, land clearing, road building, underground power, etc.).
3. Consider assistance through the funding of a model home for re-sale to a new family, the proceeds of which to be used to build the next home through a publicly-controlled revolving fund.

12. Conclusion
The plum Creek plan offers many opportunities and many challenges to the Town of Greenville. The implementation of the proposed development must be done in conjunction with local and state officials in order to best manage public sector responsibilities and demands by the owners of the newly-developed areas. The assumed purpose of this series of recommendations to the Board of Selectmen is for the Board to amend and alter this into a document which the Board would forward to both Plum Creek and to LURC for consideration as the planned is revised and considered by the State of Maine. After Plum Creek announces its changes to its original plan, this list of recommendations will likely change and be altered for the Board's consideration, and ultimately for re-submission to Plum Creek and to LURC for further consideration.

Respectfully Submitted;

John Simko, Town Manager
Town of Greenville
January 18, 2006.

*The Board of Selectmen will not be sending this document, but will be sending a summary letter to Plum Creek which highlights some of these issues, and focuses on the comments and concerns heard at the January 11 public hearing