“If you don’t have a vision, nothing happens.” That insightful quote from the late Christopher Reeve helps to explain the transformation happening today at the Pepperell Mill Complex in Biddeford.
As Henry David Thoreau said “it’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” To their credit, visionary leaders in the public and private sectors looked at a shuttered symbol of a bygone textile manufacturing era and saw a new paradigm of economic and social vitality. They envisioned a mixed-use community that creates jobs, offers educational opportunities matching employment needs in the region, and a community that utilizes green energy strategies.
The City of Biddeford is well-positioned to launch and sustain an era of exciting revitalization. The activity at Pepperell Mill and elsewhere in the community is sparking interest well beyond the city’s borders.
As a business owner and elected official in a nearby York County community, I’m intrigued by the possibility and promise of Pepperell Mill. Having created dozens of jobs, I know the challenge of putting ideas and capital together to make progress. Despite the standard obstacles and the anemic economic recovery, business and government leaders in Biddeford are moving forward.
Having attended a recent event to announce the next steps in Pepperell Mill’s re-birth, I want to offer this “outsiders” opinion that bright days are ahead for the people and businesses of Biddeford. I urge residents, entrepreneurs and investors to pay close attention and to get involved. We rise and fall together, and Biddeford has a chance to rise in prosperous and meaningful ways, if people collaborate. Because the entire York County region could benefit from Pepperell Mill’s redevelopment, I pledge whatever assistance I might offer in the month and years ahead. As a strong proponent of practical educational opportunities structured to meet the region’s needs and job openings, I’ll end by expressing hope that the Pepperell Mill campus will become home to a charter high school or technical college. The success of our economy and the strength of our society depend, in large part, upon highly motivated young people who possess the skills that are truly needed.
Matching education with employment may have never been more important than it is today. Given the challenges and complexities of the global economy, we no longer have the luxury of providing endless educational paths and assuming graduates will be able to fit productively into the workplace. Using a new computer tool, Maine’s Department of Labor has been documenting a mismatch between job openings and the skills of those searching for employment. We must be more strategic in our planning, and a charter school or technical college at Pepperell Mill could play a vital role in filling the gap between the skills businesses are seeking and the training being provided to students.
And while I’m expressing hopes for Biddeford and the entire region, I look forward to the day when Pepperell Mill, as envisioned by some of its backers, will also house a bio-science center. Maine may no not be ideally suited for textile manufacturing, as during Pepperell Mill’s heyday, but there is simply no reason why our state can’t educate and eventually lead in the fields of bio-science and bio-medical research.
Vision. It’s the ingredient that’s often missing from economic development aspirations. Fortunately, Biddeford’s leaders are seeing the future clearly. It’s time to bring people, resources and energy together to make the vision a reality.
— Donato Tramuto is a selectman and business owner in Ogunquit.
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