MISCA Annual Letter December 2012
click HERE for letter
September 2011
The trustees met with architect Eric Allyn at the sites to discuss ideas on making the two houses blend nicely into the hillside while taking maximum advantage of solar heating.
August 2011
MISCA trustees selected two probable house sites on the land near the cemetery. The next step in the grant application process is to submit design drawings for the proposed houses.
In the maintenence department, Trustees approved replacing an exterior back door to the Black Duck, rebuilding its front porch, and installing a water heater specifically for the Black Duck (rather than it being shared with a condo owner).
July 2011
On July 7th the MISCA trustees met with Liza Fleming-Ives, Associate Director from the Genesis Community Loan Fund. Liza is helping us with the application process for the Affordable Housing Initiative for Maine Islands Grant. After a short closed meeting, a public MISCA meeting was held and Liza was available to answer questions about the grant. Trustees voted to discontinue the current version of the grant which included purchase and rehab of the Boegel property. Trustees then voted in favor of pursuit of the grant to build two houses on MISCA land near the cemetery. There are concerns about some requirements attached to the grant, as well as overall cost, which will be investigated before any final decision is made.
April 2011
MISCA trustees voted to propose in the grant application, to build one house on land just south of the cemetery and to purchase and rehab the Boegel home. Here is the Expense Report. The Boegel store would be included in the purchase of the house but would not be a part of the rehab.
March 2011
MISCA is currently involved in the application process for the Affordable Housing Initiative for Maine Islands Grant. Details include plans for one to two houses on land just south of the cemetery. Most of the paperwork is in.
Katy and Dave Boegel's property, which includes house and store, has come up for sale and MISCA has received a request for assistance in its purchase.
MISCA ANNUAL LETTER 2010
Monhegan has once again been transformed into to an isolated winter island. The mailboat runs three days a week, weather permitting. In a walk through the village, you are more likely to run into pets and birds than people. Warm weather has made for a pleasant fall and town water was not turned off until just before Thanksgiving. However, stronger than usual winds remind us of the coming winter.
It is a pleasure to report some good news from Monhegan. Beautiful weather and an increase in tourism helped most businesses this summer. When Trap Day came on Oct. 2 the price of lobster was almost double what it had been two years before. Better yet, the catch was good and the quality was the best we have seen in years. The only downside has been lots of rough weather. The fish house meeting to discuss the best weather opportunity for Trap Day reminded me of the years when we set in January and good weather was scarce. In the end, when the lobstering is good the boats go out anyway so all the boats have been active. It is an especially good sign to see a new generation of young lobstermen and women hitting their stride.
There is also good news in the year-round housing area. MISCA has voted to apply to Maine Housing's (MH) newly-created program to increase affordable housing on Maine's eight offshore islands. This two million dollar program has special rules that acknowledge the unique challenges islands face, thus Maine Housing has proved to be relatively easy to work with. With our partners at Maine Housing we expect to build two extremely energy efficient year-round homes on land below the cemetery that was donated to MISCA by the Plantation and Monhegan Associates.
MISCA has realized from the beginning that to be successful we would have to raise substantial sums from both on-island and off-island sources. Thanks to your generosity we have had the most success raising money on the island, but this program brings us to a whole new level as we expect to receive at least $350,000 from Maine Housing. Many years of work went into getting this program passed by the Maine Legislature. People from Monhegan worked with those on other islands and eventually with many inshore groups to build a coalition that was able to tell the legislature our story.
Our goal for the next year is to have Victor Lord build a 1400 sq. ft. super-insulated home, and for Jerry and Ben Vis to build an 1100sq. ft. super-insulated home. We are still in the early planning stages but after discussions with LURC, Maine Housing, the Department of Environmental Protection, etc., feedback so far has been positive. They have all provided useful advice.
I hope this project makes you both proud and excited to be part of such a vital island community. None of us believed eight years ago that we could accomplish so much in such a short time, but we have guaranteed, in perpetuity, that the year-round community will have three homes, two condos, two businesses, the town office, and the US Post Office. With your continued support we will add two more homes to this list of accomplishments. These two homes will be on the leading edge of energy efficiency and sustainable building techniques. They should be models for any winter homes built or renovated in the future.
MISCA does not yet have a total budget for this project. Based on the work we have done with everyone involved, it is a safe bet that we will need to raise an additional $100,000 for construction and other costs. Please be as generous as you can. I would like to ask you to do something that is equally important: keep up on your MISCA membership and encourage others to join. Together we are shaping a better future for the island we all love.
