MCOG Monthly Newsletter

The MCOG General Assembly will take place on Thursday, November 16th at Watts Hall in Thomaston. This all-day meeting will be keynoted by Erik Pages, Entreworks Consulting, and the theme of the day will be “The Amenity Trap—how high-amenity communities can avoid being loved to death.” We will have a panel on housing and a group discussion regarding strategies to prevent amenity-related growth from overwhelming our communities and region. A continental breakfast and lunch will be provided, so please register if you will attend in-person to give us an accurate headcount for food and beverage. A zoom option is available.

RSVP and detailed agenda here. Please RSVP by Nov 9th.

MCOG will begin the regional and subregional housing needs assessment in November. Teams will be organized for the three subregions: Brunswick, Harpswell and Sagadahoc County; Knox county, and Waldo County. MCOG staff members will be reaching out to member communities for involvement in the team assessment of housing needs and implementation objectives. For communities interested in participating, please watch for notifications of interest from key staff members: Adi Philson (Waldo), Dan DeBord (Knox), and Alexis Mann (Brunswick, Harpswell and Sagadahoc County). In the meantime, Charlotte Nutt is preparing a housing assessment analysis for each subregion that has been developed based on the methodology of the most recent State of Maine Housing Production Needs Study. Initial findings of that assessment will be presented at the General Assembly meeting in November.

The following survey is being sent out to all MCOG members as part of our work updating the MCEDC Comprehensive Plan. The purpose of the survey is to collect input from municipalities and counties about infrastructure needs and projects to generate economic development in your area. We appreciate having input from all municipalities in our region so we can ensure all voices are heard.

We prefer municipalities respond to this survey before November 9 so we can have the data ready for the General Assembly meeting. If you know you cannot finish the survey before then, please let us know so we can be sure we can still get your information incorporated in at a later date. Please email Max Johnstone (mjohnstone@midcoastcog.com) with any questions.

Click here to access the survey.

The Midcoast Council of Governments and Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission (LCRPC) will have a joint workshop to go over Shoreland Zoning with Colin Clark, the Shoreland Zoning Coordinator for the Maine DEP. This workshop is highly recommended for municipal staff members involved in the Shoreland Zoning process (Town Planners, Planning Board members, Code Enforcement Officers, etc.).

The workshop will be held on December 7, 2023 starting at 1:30pm at the LCRPC office at 297 Bath Road in Wiscasset. If you are unable to attend in-person, the meeting will be available on Zoom and recorded for those unable to attend. The Zoom link is available by clicking here.

Contact Max Johnstone (mjohnstone@midcoastcog.com) with any questions.

Communities throughout the region are proactively addressing the growing risk of severe weather and creating positive solutions to make their lives better. Understanding exposure, engaging in a community dialog, and putting a climate action plan in place is one of the most important things a community can do to build resiliency.  

Topsham, with more than 12 miles of frontage on the Androscoggin River and large areas in the flood zone, is particularly challenged, but the community is taking steps to lessen their climate impacts. In collaboration with Maine SeaGrant and Casco Bay Estuary Partnership, MCOG is supporting Topsham in their endeavor to update their climate action plan. Funded by a Community Resilience Partnership Community Action Grant, the plan will identify how and where resources will be directed to address climate impacts on businesses, town assets, and vulnerable populations. For more information on climate action planning, please contact Meg Rasmussen, Community Resilience Planner, at mrasmussen@midcoastcog.com. 

We are pleased to announce that over $850,000 has been sent to law enforcement agencies throughout the Midcoast region as part of our $900,000 federal earmark request. We are anticipating finishing our drawdowns by January 2024.