Opinions
Page D, The Bridgton News, August 2, 2012
Working to help our homeless veterans by Bill Diamond State Senator, D-Windham
The problem of homelessness among our veterans has always been very important to me. These are people who put their lives on hold to serve our country and in many cases put their lives on the line, and I find it unacceptable that we, as a society, can be so ungrateful for their service as to allow
them to stay homeless. That is why at the beginning of this session I put in a bill, LD 723 entitled, “An Act to End Homelessness in Maine.” The bill had sought to identify homeless veterans, hold outreach events, known as “stand downs,” throughout the state to get these veterans connected
Letters
To The Editor: I just read the article suggesting “local preference” for the pending Avesta housing project. Perhaps only Bridgton people should eat at the new McDonald’s, as well. Deb Dolan Sebago
local economy? With this “locals only” way of thinking, I can only think that our next obvious step is to require everyone from outside Bridgton to be required to show their passports at the borders. If we’re going to move forward with this project, which is ostensibly designed to provide much-needed quality affordable housing, let’s stop putting up expensive roadblocks and focus on getting something done. Caroline Grimm Bridgton
Local preference
Fairness and transparency
To The Editor: In regards to the concept of “local preference,” it seems glaringly obvious to me, but perhaps I’m missing some logical facts on the matter. We have placed one roadblock after another in working with Avesta on building an apartment complex in Bridgton. I am all for carefully vetting such projects. Whether to approve the project and under what circumstances are certainly valid areas of discussion. The piece that seems to make no sense at all is this “local preference” demand. If the project is approved and if the apartments are built and if they actually progress to the point of being rentable, we only want to rent them to Bridgton residents? If anyone, regardless of where he or she lived five minutes before, lives in the apartments, doesn’t that make them Bridgton residents? Wouldn’t those new Bridgton residents be contributing to the
To The Editor: The benefits of giving preference to local businesses are debatable. On the surface, doing so appears to benefit the town and reward those who have chosen to do business in Bridgton. The long-term effects, however, can drive up costs for the town as local businesses no longer see the need to offer financially competitive pricing — they only need to be in the ballpark to win the contract and external businesses eventually refrain from participating because the result is a foregone conclusion. Taxpayers in Bridgton deserve the best service at the best price. They also deserve transparency in the selection process and transparency in the definition of criteria for selecting service providers. But, if local preference is viewed as a strong enough benefit to outweigh the negatives, there are options to giving local businesses preference that are fair,
• Tree Removal/Pruning/Cabling • Stump Grinding/Brush Chipping • Bucket Truck/Bobcat Work/Trucking TF24
Robert E. Fogg Naples, Maine 693-3831
Licensed Arborist www.Q-Team.com 877-693-3831 Toll Free
transparent and legal. Bridgton should consider emulating the “performance rating” approach to evaluating vendors used by most corporations today. This approach defines a set of criteria and then awards points to the participating vendors based on their proposal performance on each criteria. Consider, for example, the following criteria, each with a 5-point rating scale with 5 being the highest: • Price/cost • Alignment with town’s Master Plan • Number of jobs created or protected • Adherence to specifications
of the RFP • Quality of services or products offered • Value added service (free additional services) • Customer service standards, guarantees, warranties • Reputation • Contract length • Local business • Years in business • Town’s need for that service, product or business • Dunn and Bradstreet rating (where appropriate) • Better Business Bureau rating (where appropriate). Using the above criteria and the 5-point rating scale, each vendor is evaluated against the
LJG PAYROLL
Serving the Lakes Region area for over three decades REGISTERED – INSURED 3 Elm Street – Bridgton (across from the Post Office)
HOURS: Mon-Wed 7-4 Garry and Gloria Allen, owners Cor. Smith Ave. & Ballard St. Bus. 207-647-2511 Bridgton Home 207-647-5704
TF4
New England Electric Think Outside the Big Box! Think Home Grown Lumber!
Quality
at the lowest prices! Locally Grown and Harvested Premium Wood Products
Center Conway, NH
AJ’s BLACKTOP SEAL COATING
& RUBBERIZED CRACK FILLING
We now offer Care Credit
®
6–12 months interest-free payments
4t28x
(207) 925-8022 jasonwentworth3@hotmail.com
Commercial – Residential – Industrial • Electrical Contractor • Refrigeration/Air Conditioning • Generators • Electrical Supplies Celebrating 34 years of service!
Chiropractic Acupuncture Wellness Care & Lifestyle Change Long-Term Corrective Care
Gas Heating Systems
693-6055
Office Located Corner of 302 & 35, Windham Crossing, Suite 205
892-5430
TF
Auto Body
TELL ‘EM You’re bringing it to Finelines.
• POWERMORETM 4-Cycle Engine • X-Trac Tires • X-TremeTM Serrated Auger • & More!
HAD AN ACCIDENT? er! mb e m Re
Maine State Law Let’s YOU Decide who’s fixing your vehicle! Need a recommendation? Ask Your Neighbor!
“We Service What We Sell”
Dr. Christine Newell, OPTOMETRIST
NAPLES SMALL ENGINE
59 Main Street, Bridgton, Maine • 207-647-2030 www.bridgtoneyecare.com
OPEN MONDAY-FRIDAY 7-6; SATURDAY 7-NOON
TF
l i n e es n i F
A SNOWTHROWER THAT SATISFIES YOUR NEEDS.
AVAILABLE NOW!
• COMPREHENSIVE EYE EXAMINATIONS • HIGH QUALITY FRAMES & LENSES • SPECIALIZING IN CONTACT LENSES
To The Editor: To all who attended the Denmark Arts Center’s first ever Dam Jam on Saturday, July 21, I wanted to offer a hearty “thank you” for making the Dam Jam a resounding success! A lot of folks helped to create a terrific event, and we couldn’t have done it without you. Thanks to all our sponsors (you know who you are!): the Maine Arts Commission, representing your tax-dollars coming back; (Town Manager) Ephrem Paraschak and the selectmen LETTERS, Page D
Dr. Ted Rogers Activator
603.447.3800
A comprehensive eye exam will diagnose eye problems like astigmatism, cataracts, and farsightedness to name a few, but did you know that an eye exam can go a long way in detecting other health concerns like diabetes and high blood pressure?
TF52
TF12
Locally Owned – Visit us to plan your next Green Building project.
Dam Jam success
C & R Caron Co., Inc.
129 Sebago Rd. (Rt. 114), Naples, Maine
lumber and flooring products
“ideal” for the town and obviously the vendor with the highest rating is selected. Bridgton could choose to take this approach up a notch by “weighting” each criteria based on its importance to the town. For instance, price might receive a weight of 10 and thus the rating of 1-5 would be multiplied by 10 to receive a total score for that criterion. This would again give the town the ability to weight being a local business higher than say the criteria of years in business. This approach is fair, transparent and legal. Everyone in the town and vendors should have the ability to view the
JASON WENTWORTH 1219 Main Street Lovell, ME
647-5711
STATE INSPECTIONS
this grant. Maine is a tough place to be homeless, and this is a group of people who have risked much on our behalf. Getting them into appropriate housing is the least we can do for them. Remember if there is anything I can do for you in Augusta, or there is anything I can help you with, you can call my office at the State House at 287-1515 or visit my website, www.mainesenate.org/diamond to send me an e-mail. Senator Bill Diamond is a resident of Windham, and serves the District 12 communities of Casco, Frye Island, Raymond, Standish, Windham and Hollis.
RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL • FREE ESTIMATES Fully Licensed & Insured
Full-service payroll – Direct deposit available. Designed for small businesses to make your life easier!
~ Over 25 Years In Business ~
nizes the quality of the work they do with this population. They work with Pine Tree Legal, who help the veterans with issues such as unpaid back rent and utilities that can be serious barriers to getting a fresh start with new housing. Preble Street also helps the homeless veterans find suitable housing, get together the deposits they need and get them benefits they have earned through their service to help keep them off the streets in the future. I would like to recognize the folks at Preble Street for their continued efforts to help this special group of people and applaud them on receiving
evaluations for all vendors on a given RFP or proposal. Such a system also works against favoritism and encourages all participating vendors to be competitive in several criteria not just price or business location. While local preference sounds good, it can work against the real needs of the town and the taxpayers overall. In the long run, it discourages outside vendors from participating when they hear that the “local guy is going to get it anyway” resulting in fewer options for the town and lower quality responses. Think before you act. What sounds good on the surface is not always good in execution. It is especially important for TAI CHI MAINE CELEBRATES — Eighteen members of Tai Chi Maine gathered at Lake Bridgton officials to take their Region House of Pizza to celebrate 12 new beginners having completed their initial instruction of time in considering local prefthe Moy Tai Chi “set” of 108 moves. This beginner class started in March. A new beginner class erence, especially given that will commence in September. For the balance of the summer, free instruction continues at the those who may benefit from historic Bridgton Town Hall on Tuesdays and Thursday and with Tai Chi in the Park in Denmark such an approach are part of the on Mondays. Pictured left to right are eight of the 12 “graduates”: Steve Edwards, Brian Grennan decision-making process. (instructor), Bonnie Edwards, Janet Underwood, Maggie Poulin, Judy Genesio, Susan Campisano Shelley Hall and Ron Shaw. Bridgton
TF11
What makes a community
of homeless vets in the county’s homeless shelters is down 25%, despite the continuing weak economy and a general increase in the homeless population. Despite this improvement, much more still needs to be done. That is why I was so pleased to hear that the Preble Street Resource Center, which provides services for the homeless in Cumberland County, received a $750,000 grant from the federal Department of Veterans Affairs to get homeless veterans the help they need. This is the second year in which they have received this grant. The repeat award recog-
ROUTE 302, NAPLES 207-693-6793
Route 302 • 1866 Roosevelt Trail • Naples 1t31
Ray Hansen • Mark Bridges • Mike Gordon
TF13
Views from Senate
to the services they need, such as health care and dental care, and some help in getting them housing. They also get clean clothes, a few hot meals and a shower. Finally the bill sought to identify temporary housing for homeless veterans where they could stay until they get their lives back together and get back on their feet. I am pleased to say that the bill passed. Between this bill and increased federal efforts at serving homeless veterans, things seem to have improved. Between last year and this year, requests from homeless veterans for General Assistance in Cumberland County is down 18%, and the number