Bowdoin

Aside from his service in the army during WWII and the Korean War, my father, Edward Pols, spent almost his entire working life teaching philosophy at Bowdoin College.  After a one year appointment at Princeton, my parents came to Bowdoin in 1949.  In the spring of 2001 the building housing the Philosophy and Latin American studies program was named the “Edward Pols House.”  It’s a rare thing to earn your way in life teaching and writing about philosophy and raising a family of six within the “Bowdoin Bubble,” and an even rarer privilege to have your work honored in such a public way.

Understanding this opportunity and the central role the college plays in town life informs my role as an At-Large member of the Brunswick Town Council.  There are so many ways in which the college and the town interact–economically, culturally, through the growth of the college—and  each of them presents both great opportunity and occasional difficulty for townspeople outside the bubble.  Balancing the two is crucial.

Economic and cultural impact.  The economic impact of the college can’t be understated.  A complete accounting of the numbers is available from the college treasurer’s office and can be seen here: http://www.bowdoin.edu/treasurer/pdf/economic-indicators.pdf.

Some of the numbers bear repeating. The college is among the three largest employers in town (24th largest private employer in the state).  Its payroll to Brunswick residents exceeds $26 million per year.  Obviously much of this money comes back to the town through property taxes and purchases made at other local businesses.  Bowdoin is the 7th largest taxpayer, but when its other financial contributions (payments in lieu of taxes, joint projects and grants) are considered it typically ranks 4th.

Almost more important than its direct economic contributions is the duration of the relationship between the town and college: 219 years.  What follows is an excerpt of remarks I made to the navy base redevelopment authority when discussing the base closure:

But we are also lucky in that the departure of the Navy does not leave us truly alone.  We have economic diversity: we also have LL Bean, BIW, two fine hospitals, Downeast energy and a nearly full industrial park.

Perhaps most important, and getting back to the question of partnerships, we have, and have had for more that 200 years, Bowdoin College.  Bowdoin College has weathered every single economic crisis in the history of this country.  While farming, textiles, the Dennison Box Company, shoe manufacturing, paper manufacturing and finally the Navy have come and gone, Bowdoin College has survived and thrived.

Just as Bowdoin and Brunswick have partnered to be among the first to turn lights on here at Maine Street Station, I expect Bowdoin will be among the first to turn the lights back on at the base once the Navy has turned out theirs.

Some complain about the “elite” in town.  Others suggest Bowdoin usually gets what it wants from the town: they complain this is unfair because Bowdoin is “tax-exempt.”  Neither one of these accusations holds water.  There are 949 employees of the college;  they work in such diverse fields as buildings maintenance, dining services, administrative support, security, and yes, teaching.  A quick look at the College’s employment website shows the diversity of the college employees. With respect to taxes, the college is a direct taxpayer on much of its property ranking it 7th town wide, but when other voluntary contributions the college pays to the town are considered, it really ranks 4th.

Students as citizens and voters.

Lately there has been a fair amount of criticism leveled at college students who vote in their adopted home towns.  Over the years there have been complaints that Bowdoin students have the power to alter local elections.  Some question whether they should vote at all if they aren’t up on local issues.  But given the interconnectedness of the college and the town I’ve described here it seems that Bowdoin students, if they have the time, should be interested in town politics.

In 2011 Maine’s governor, Paul Lepage and Secretary of State, Charles Summers moved to alter the same day voter registration law that had existed in Maine for more than thirty-eight years.  In addition to the typical complaints about students having only a temporary connection to their adopted community now they also suggested fraud by students.  Most of these claims were disproved, but the threat to student voting rights persisted until election day 2011 when voters rebuffed the Governor’s efforts to curtail same day registration..

It’s obviously important for students to have the maximum flexibility to register to vote. Students move somewhere new on campus every year putting them in both new legislative districts as well as in new municipal districts.  Their mailing address may be the same MU box, if they’ve moved to a new dorm there is a one-in-four chance that their local district has changed.  So re-registration will be required with each residence change.

Bowdoin students who live on campus are in four separate municipal voting districts.  47% are in district 7 and are represented by Councilor Sarah Brayman (the tower and surrounding dorms), the 30% living in the bricks and some of the house are represented by district 6 councilor Margo Knight, about 15% live in district 2, where Ben Tucker represents the Brunswick apartments, the remaining few (Pine St. and the Stowe house are in district 5.

Brunswick’s town clerk has always worked hard to accommodate the student voter.  In 2010 the clerk’s office registered 800 voters on election day.  In fact, according to newspaper accounts,  town clerks across the state generally felt that same day voter registration works well.

Growth of the college.  Town and college partnerships.

Maine Street Station.  Most current Bowdoin students weren’t here four years ago before the Inn at Brunswick Station and the rest of the Maine Street Station complex (train station, the Bowdoin Store, Scarlet Begonias, Byrne’s Pub, etc.) were built.

Though the development is a joint venture between the town and a private developer, Bowdoin College played an integral role in its early stages by stepping up as the project’s first major tenant.  The college rented one building, where the college retail store is located, and the entire second floor at 16 Station Avenue where it located the Dance Studio and faculty offices.  Finally, the college subleased to the town, at substantially discounted rent, the large municipal meeting room and cable television studio located at 16 Station Avenue.

Longfellow School.  When the town announced plans to abandon the Longfellow School building just across South Street from Coles tower, most people’s thoughts turned to the college as the next likely owner.  After all, the school is right at the edge of campus property; students pass through it daily on their way to the field house and to the Brunswick apartments.  The college was generous in offering the town either $2million for the property immediately, or to swap the McClellan office building downtown for the school.   The town opted for the swap but we won’t receive McClellan late 2014.  The college will continue to use the third floor at McClellan for art studios, possibly until 2024.

Over several months the college and a neighborhood association worked closely to work out compromise zoning language that allows the college to make good use of the property while providing a degree of reassurance to the surrounding householders that their property values will be protected and the college’s use of the property will be consistent with the neighborhood.  As the town councilor representing the neighborhood I was very pleased with the college’s stance on this project.  The college could have easily pushed town staff for more intense uses but instead chose to be a good neighbor and compromised.

New land for Bowdoin on the former Naval Air Station.  As the Navy completes its departure from Brunswick, Bowdoin will fill a part of the void.  Federal law requires that “public benefit conveyances” of various pieces of the abandoned property be considered before the land is sold off.  Receiving a public benefit conveyance requires cabinet level approval from a department of the federal government.  Working through the federal department of education Bowdoin sought and received a public benefit conveyance of about 259 acres suitable for development on the west side of the air base adjacent to the Harpswell Road.  A simultaneous application by the town allowed for conveyance of all the contiguous but non-developable land to the town of Brunswick for conservations purposes.  The boundaries between the college land and town land have yet to be determined; the college and town will be working together on this project for the foreseeable future.

An article published on the college website, and attached to this site under “Categories: Bowdoin,” provides greater detail.  The College’s tentative plans include:

• 12 acres (Parcel 1) for construction of a storage facility and warehouse space that might, in part, accommodate the display of contemporary art; and parking.
• 104 acres (Parcel 2) for construction of athletic fields with parking and a service building; an interpretive nature trail that will accommodate student and faculty research and field studies in environmental studies and other academic disciplines.
• 143 acres (Parcel 3) for environmental studies, including a classroom/lab building and parking; to support sustainable food production, horticulture, and agriculture, including the construction of three greenhouses; a service building for equipment storage; and the extension of the interpretive nature trail.

Road reconstruction around the First Parish Church.  The traffic pattern around the First Parish Church and along the Bath Road has long been a problem for visitors to the area, church parishoners and for all college users who need to cross the Bath Road.  In the spring of 2012 the Maine Dept. of Transportation will begin construction on a new, and with good fortune, improved traffic and pedestrian pattern around the church.  The college has agreed to bear half of the local costs of the project.