At glance, local economy appears healthy

FRANKLIN COUNTY -- The nightly news including local Maine broadcasts continue to announce and rehash the economic challenges we face and fill the nation with a gloomy forecast. The media reports a widespread dwindling economy that is pinching every one of us due to a now admitted time of recession.

The unsettling forecast poises the question of how our local northern Franklin County is handling this crunch as the media blasts reports of mass unemployment, foreclosure, and business closure which is creating an industry meltdown.

The Maine Department of Labor is not reporting good news. Unemployment is also hitting record high numbers in our state.

According to a DOL release, the not-seasonally-adjusted Maine unemployment rate for February increased to 9.1 percent up from 8.7 percent in January and up from 5.5 percent a year ago.

Other New England states reporting seasonally-adjusted rates for this February include New Hampshire at 5.3 percent, Massachusetts at 7.8 percent and Rhode Island at 10.5 percent.

"Labor market conditions continue to weaken nationally and in Maine between January and February, the number of nonfarm jobs declined and the unemployment rate rose," said State Labor Commissioner Laura Fortman. The national rate increased 3.3 percentage points over the month and in Maine it rose 3.1 percentage points, she explained.

Job loss included 2,600 seasonally-adjusted jobs statewide over the month and 15,500 job losses over the year. Job loses were recorded in a wide spectrum of industries from construction to manufacturing to government.

These losses have affected Franklin County as the notseasonally adjusted rate hit its highest rate in many years at 10 percent. Average individual income stood at $15.50 per hour for Franklin County residents or an average of $35,000 yearly as reported for that month.

However, the overall spirit and economically vital signs of the northern Franklin County business communities show strong indications of not only surviving a recession, but in many cases, there are elements of economic stability and even growth.

Naturally, all industry sectors can not be identified, but some local sources were identified and overall the reports are favorable in this unique section of the western mountains. In perhaps a unique relationship to tourism, recre- ation, manufacturing, retail trade and health care, this area may in fact have a niche-to-the-norm. Even during a time in between seasons when the proverbial "mud season" presents enhanced economic challenges, spirits remain high in northern Franklin County.

"In any Maine mountain/lake vacation destination we always see a slow-down this time of year, but this really has nothing to do with a hardship in state-wide or national economies. This is just a way of life for us… It's vacation time for many local businesses this time of year," said Evelyn McAllister, executive director for the Rangeley Lakes Chamber of Commerce.

The chamber director reported a very good economy and in some places a boost for local business this past winter season in the Rangeley area.

"The word-of-mouth is that the people are generally satisfied with this winter, particularly after the scary reports from the evening news."

Tourism held up remarkably well, McAllister said. "There was a lot going on at Saddleback which created a good buzz in the community. Plus the lowered gas prices and the amount of snow we received were very helpful for the snowmobile industry."

Basically, she said, we are very pleased. McAllister reported that one of the largest accommodations in the area was up 30-percent in terms of gross sales. "We're hearing a lot of other good reports."

In recent news, Saddleback reported a banner year in terms of ticket sales, guest visits, real estate and season pass sales amounting to as much as 20 percent in growth.

Sugarloaf ski resort also saw great numbers this season matching or even exceeding last year's record high numbers.

The construction and building material industry may have hit a slowdown after a decade or so of growth. The real estate markets maybe changing trends from a seller's market to a buyer's market after a significant surge in rising home prices over a decade. This, as many suggest, may be the ebb and flow of any industry or business sector, but the vibe in North Franklin County is positive.

"The building material and construction industry is down over the past year," said Jonathan Jordan, vice president of Jordan Lumber Company. "But from a quotation standpoint, I am optimistic for the future and many indications suggest that things will turn around."

Jordan spoke of a particular surge in the last four weeks. "We've already seen signs of increased activity and a higher level of consumer confidence."

Spring is here and people are realizing that it's time to get back on track in improving, expanding and rebuilding their properties and investments, he explained.

The building material industry is significantly down across the entire United States and local production of material such as dimensional lumber has been affected. Two years ago over 2.2 million homes were constructed across the country and today we're seeing 75 percent less.

"The industry in general is doing poorly and possibly the worse downturn in the last 50 years," said Stratton Lumber president Petr Smetanka. "It has been two tough years and we are grateful now that most of the pain is behind us and we have less pain ahead."

The bad news for the company is that they did have to curtail production to one shift, but the good news is the people and the mill are achieving record daily, weekly and monthly production.

"We just have great people and they're really showing that they're doing the very best that they can through this downturn. They're really stepping up to the plate and showing that they want the mill to succeed," Smetanka explained.

His people and a past investment of nearly $6 million in capitol equipment created a state-of-the-art production facility and are certainly helping the business succeed. The president explained the mill and its people along with a good name the company has for product quality, marketing and strong customer relation are keeping Stratton Lumber's customers loyal.

"It's a very changing marketplace and there is just no such thing as stability in the timber industry at present time," Smetanka said. But he also assured that the spirit and intent is to keep production rolling with the hopes for a better economic climate ahead. "The business is still strong and we're not going anywhere."

"What the media is reporting is not what we are seeing here as far as doom and gloom," Narrow Gauge Real Estate owner Karen Pease said.

Pease said they have not seen the huge and terrifying problems here in terms of foreclosure as reported on television. "I think it's about the buyers in our area who tend to be more conservative from the outset."

In terms of the market conditions she replied, "This is the nature of the beast. You always have good seasons and you have to have bad ones. It has always either been a buyer's or a seller's market and just has to be one or the other." In some towns, she reports it's still a seller's market and in others that trend is turning.

"The real estate industry is physically busy," said Janet Peruffo owner/broker of CSM Real Estate. "People are being more conservative and doing their due-diligence, which I think is a good thing. People are just giving their purchases more thought, but properties are still moving."

Peruffo said she felt positive with the economic conditions, and in some sense it's creating new opportunities for many, she said. New homeowners can take advantage of new state incentives as well as lower home prices for first-time buyers, she explained.

"If people are going to invest money in today's economy, they're going to invest in things the whole family can enjoy," Peruffo said.

The market remains sound compared to investments in the stock market or mutual funds and real estate is still a wise investment, local realtors agreed.

The retail grocery industry has seen Tranten's family expand their Kingfield location by sizable proportions and open new ventures in the Farmington market. In Kingfield, a larger retail operation is constructed and a new state-of-the-art laundry service is now available through the family business. In Farmington, in addition to a newly opened and needed downtown grocery outlet, they've also added a high-end sandwich shop that is open to a welcoming community.

In Stratton, Fotter's Market and Hardware is also reporting good news. "We had a good winter," said owner Ken Fotter. "It's always a little slow in April but will pick back up in May. People will always have to eat," he said, but also attributed the Kibby Wind Power Project for much of his success during this particular off season. "The Kibby project has been very helpful for the hotels and motels in our area and has helped us with a typically slow mud season."

Kingfield Wood Products is reporting typical economic conditions with order quantities continuing to arrive on a month-by-month basis. This, despite state and national conditions, is very typical for this wood turning mill. However, manager of drum stick operations Greg Searselletti said that he's very pleased with his recent manufacturing sales. "The past couple of months have been some of the strongest months in a while," he reported. KWP manufactures and distributes drum sticks to a national and international market.

Also, the former Winter Mill, known today as New England Wire Products, is reporting great economic success. "Since fuel and metal prices have gone down, there has been plenty of work for everybody," said plant supervisor Jason Reid. "Right now we have the most employees that we've ever had and employees are working a lot of overtime."

NEWP is now employing over 50 full-time employees and manufacturing wire products servicing Maine, New England and national markets.

In light of an almost unionized concern from the national media reporting dismal economic conditions and a lot of doom and gloom, this western mountain community's "ebb" compared to its "flow" appears to be fairly balanced according to those who responded.