Portland Press Herald, July 21, 2006
Editorial: New Pier at SMCC well worth the investment
It will benefit the marine research program that distinguishes this community college.
Thursday's ceremony marking the completion of the Southern Maine Community College's new, 226-foot pier in South Portland is an example of how vision and investment pay off.
Last year, Maine voters approved a $400,000 bond to help build the pier, which was crumbling into Casco Bay.
The structure not only creates a new access to the bay's waters for schoolchildren and the community, but it's big enough to allow maritime research vessels and historic ships to tie up. That can only help SMCC achieve its goal of becoming the top community college in the nation for marine sciences.
Investing in Maine's community college system is a wise use of public funds. An educated workforce is vital to the state's long-term economic health. First-rate educational offerings, which the marine sciences program at SMCC aspires to be, can help staunch the "brain drain"--the flow of young Mainers leaving for higher education and job opportunities in other states.
SMCC is one of only a handful of two-year schools in the nation that offer a dedicated marine sciences program. Students who complete the program go on to four-year colleges or get jobs in the field.
College officials estimate the total cost of the new structure, which replaces a decrepit marine pier built at Fort Preble in the 1860s, at $750,000. The exact cost is difficult to calculate because some of the construction and design work was donated.
But the ceremony would not have been possible without the participation of key donors and partners, including R.J. Grondin & Sons Construction; Sebago Technics; Baker Design Consultants; Cianbro Corp.; Reed & Reed, Inc., Mallar Associates, the cities of South Portland and Portland, and Maine taxpayers.
They, like voters, understand the payoff that comes from investing in Maine's future.