FARMINGTON — Skowhegan Savings Bank hosted a panel discussion on Tuesday, Dec. 5, with local economic experts and business owners, in which they spoke on the outlook of western Maine’s outdoor recreation, tourism, housing needs and the area’s natural resources and manufacturing industries.

“There are so many exciting things happening in this region and we are glad to facilitate these kinds of discussions with local experts, business and community leaders,” David Cyr, president and CEO of Skowhegan Savings Bank, said at the discussion.

“At Skowhegan Savings, our goal is to make our communities a better place to live and work,” Steve Thomas, SVP senior commercial lender, stated. “We have introduced several niche products to the market with our most recent lending platform designed to quickly meet small business rolling stock financing requirements.  Our lending team is uniquely qualified in that over half of our team has owned and successfully operated businesses in Maine – so they truly understand the complex Maine business environment.”

The discussion took place at the Homestead in Farmington and panelists for the discussion included Jonathan Tower, managing partner from Arctaris Impact Investors, LLC; Maine state economist Amanda Rector; and Aaron Bolster, former president of the Maine Association of Realtors and owner of Allied Realty in Skowhegan and Rangeley. Representatives from local businesses, community leaders, and Skowhegan Savings Bank employees were in attendance for the discussion.

When approaching the subject of outdoor recreation and tourism within western Maine, Rector noted a positive population shift over the past several years since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“During the pandemic,” Rector stated, “we actually saw a decline in Maine’s median age due to younger adults who could work remotely coming to Maine for better work/life balance and to enjoy outdoor recreation.”

Tower, whose firm purchased Saddleback Mountain in 2020, added to this sentiment and expressed optimism in the growth of outdoor recreation and tourism.

“Saddleback, Rangeley, and western Maine are just an awesome place to be,” he said. “Not only is it aesthetically stunning with the mountains, woods and lakes, but it also has an approachable and friendly culture that keeps people coming back for generations.”

Since reopening Saddleback, Tower and his firm have invested significantly in the mountain’s infrastructure and brought 150 jobs back to the local economy, but faced challenges in the lack of affordable housing to bring employees back to the mountain.

“Workforce housing was a real challenge for us as we reopened the mountain,” he said. “Limited inventory and [COVID-19] related relocating drove house prices up significantly.”

To address this issue, Saddleback developed an on-mountain housing complex which accommodates 70 to 90 people. Tower explained that the complex enables them to attract the talent they need to operate the resort, as well as be a resource for neighboring businesses during the summer months with seasonal workers.

“Maine housing stock is some of the oldest in the nation,” Bolster added, “and with an increase in people relocating to our rural communities, there has become a real need for more housing,”

He noted the need for a long term, strategic investment in housing with a focus on harnessing government grants and funding programs to help achieve this. Bolster remains optimistic for the 2024 real estate market to return to a state of normalcy.

For their final topic of discussion, panelists shifted their focus to natural resources and manufacturing, with Rector sharing how the region is poised to take advantage of its rich natural resources and history of manufacturing. She provided the example of TimberHP’s recent restoration of the defunct paper mill in Madison, which reopened earlier this summer to produce wood fiber insulation products.

“The economy in western Maine hasn’t shifted significantly in the past 10 years. It’s a very natural resource based, goods producing economy rather than service-based economy,” said Rector. “What’s exciting is that this part of the state has a real opportunity to become a leader in sustainable and environmentally friendly manufacturing.”

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