Dear Editor:

We fell in love with Boothbay Harbor from the porch of the Seafarer Inn, on Union Street. You could say, it was a case of love at first sight. That love affair, 30 years ago, turned into a marriage, when we bought our first house here, after 9/11.

I have been hearing the expression, build it and they will come, a lot. That can be wishful thinking. The Whitney Museum moved downtown (New York City), and the mom and pop stores that used to line 14th Street, left. A dozen high end retail shops moved in. Two years later – 14th Street is a ghost town. It is deserted on 12th Avenue.

I’ve also heard that Boothbay Harbor’s population is declining. School enrollment is down. I believe that will change, because of our warming climate. The west coast is burning up.

Dr. Nichole Price recently gave a lecture at Bigelow Labs on sugar kelp farming. This crop has the potential to become a million dollar industry, off of the Maine coast. Sugar kelp farming reduces the acidity of the ocean water. Mussels grown near a sugar kelp farm grow bigger. This business will need maritime facilities.

I propose that a bond be floated at your next election for Boothbay Harbor to buy the Sea Pier. The Sea Pier is part of the heritage of the town and should remain so for generations.

I suggest two opportunities for philanthropy in Boothbay Harbor. I understand that many people are displaced after storms due to the loss of electricity. So that the peninsula is more energy independent, a fund could be set up to enable families to install solar roofs, to keep people in their homes after storms.

The loss of the bowling alley was painful. Real estate in the harbor is getting expensive. Perhaps a site could be found in the industrial park, for funding a new bowling, ping pong and pool site for the families of the peninsula – the carpenters, landscapers, electricians, plumbers, teachers, nurses, boat builders and the scientists.

Marcia Annenberg

Boothbay Harbor