The story of Maine’s economic challenges is playing out close to home with the recent announcement that the Otis Mill will shutter one of its paper machines, laying off 150. In months to come, the headlines will likely be dominated by emotional stories of those losing their jobs and the impact on families already struggling with the rising costs of just about everything.

There is more to the story, though, and that is the fragile nature of the economy for communities in the center of the Androscoggin Valley. Without a plan for how Jay and Livermore Falls and the surrounding communities will grow and diversify their economic base, challenges will continue and Maine families will be faced with very difficult choices.

A quick survey of the landscape easily yields a number of individuals committed to the future of their community, and that’s critically important, but naming an organization that could lead the effort to plan for the future of this region is more daunting.

Perhaps that search shouldn’t be such a challenge, but it is for a simple reason. In this section of Maine, where the Androscoggin River takes a hard-right turn from the mountains to the sea, many political and organizational boundaries cross, almost making a perfect bullseye through Jay and Livermore Falls.

There are three county governments (Oxford, Androscoggin, Franklin), three chambers of commerce (River Valley, Jay-Livermore-Livermore Falls, Androscoggin County), multiple municipal governments (Jay, Livermore, Livermore Falls, Canton, etc.) and at least one economic development corporation (Greater Franklin Development).

This is neither an exhaustive list nor begins to inventory the numerous state agencies involved in the region that may, or may not, communicate or coordinate with each other.

History provides examples of how business transcends arbitrary political boundaries. The Otis Mill was once one of the largest paper mills in the world. Built more than a century ago, the communities and political institutions around it have changed drastically, even though the mill has not moved from the riverbank. The machine being shut down is actually located in Livermore Falls, not Jay, and the entire complex straddles not only town lines but county lines.

In another instance, Verso Paper (then International Paper) sought a location nearly 50 years ago to build a new pulp and paper mill on the Androscoggin River. The search led to two locations: where the facility now resides in Jay and a location downstream in Livermore Falls.

Even without offering a full analysis, how might the tables have been turned between Jay and Livermore Falls had the mill been built in the other place? Municipal tax rates aside, it would still have been on the river, near rail lines and within close proximity to the highly skilled workforce of the region.

It would seem then, if proximity to cost-effective transportation corridors and utilities and an educated workforce are drivers in site location, a plan could be developed to fully leverage the region’s access to these tools, regardless of political or organizational boundaries.

We will watch in coming months how government responds at the federal, state and local level. If history repeats itself, there will be significant time and energy filling the immediate need of getting workers into training programs for new jobs and assisting them and their families in the transition, which of course should be priority one.

But what’s next?

The firefighting from mill closure to mill closure does not save communities, it has yet to work in Millinocket or Old Town, and it only puts a band-aid on a flesh wound. And with each mill job having a spin-off effect of creating additional jobs, the entire region cannot afford the typical band-aid approaches we have seen offered to other regions of Maine.

Western Maine must demand leadership to shape a new direction that cuts across bureaucracies and parochial interests.

Jonathan LaBonte, of New Auburn, is a columnist for the Sun Journal. E-mail: [email protected].