By Robert Witkowski<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Stepping down after a decade as city manager, Joe Gray reflects on Portland\u2019s startling changes since he arrived here from Madison, Wisconsin, 41 years ago.<\/h3>\n
Our toil’s obscure and a’ that From \u201cA Man\u2019s A Man For A\u2019 That,\u201d Robert Burns,1797<\/em><\/p>\n The most difficult call I ever got was in the middle of the night from Jeff Monroe after 9-11, telling me it appeared two of the terrorists started their day in Portland. Sometime in the morning\u2013I think it was 3 a.m.\u2013I found myself standing there, watching these two guys going up the escalator on tape. They looked just like any young businessmen in their 30s, talking, and you<\/em> knew they<\/em> knew they\u2019d be dead in three hours. It woke me up to the intense feelings people have.<\/p>\n On that note, didn\u2019t you fire Monroe as Portland\u2019s Director of Ports & Transportation in May 2008?<\/strong><\/p>\n Well, not just Jeff. It was a difficult decision in a tough budget year. We had to make lots of cutbacks equally significant. We also eliminated the head of Parks & Rec and many other positions\u2026 There was some adjusting, but nothing that led to interruption of services.<\/p>\n Did Portland save a lot by collapsing the Monroe position and its support functions? <\/strong><\/p>\n Oh, God, yeah! We saved $300,000 annually. We were able to turn the International Marine Terminal over to the state, and we got out of the Capital Fund. The fire chief is responsible for all of our Homeland Security; the Harbor Commission, made up by Portland and South Portland, continues its operations; and cruise ships are handled by a private contractor who negotiates with the cruise lines.<\/p>\n What\u2019s the most unfair criticism you\u2019ve had?<\/strong><\/p>\n I didn\u2019t have enough visibility. It\u2019s probably the comment I\u2019ve most heard over time.<\/p>\n Not that you\u2019re Mr. Cellophane! Ocean Gateway is a wonderful step toward the future.<\/strong><\/p>\n Ocean Gateway was part of a broader plan for the eastern part of the waterfront. And had all the elements been carried out, how it would have fit into that plan would have been very visible to the community. Because so much of that other plan has floundered due to the economy, Ocean Gateway stands out there by itself. People are impatient after three or four years. The reality is, these are 10- to 20-year redevelopments.<\/p>\n The new megaberth will handle virtually all cruise ships in operation, and we\u2019ll be in position for the next generation of ships coming. Homeberthing here would be a big boost. But you have to take the long view, like Bayside [neighborhood].<\/p>\n It\u2019s a disappointment to lose the ferry [to Nova Scotia], but it\u2019s my understanding that sometime in 2012 we will have some service.<\/p>\n As a property owner on Peaks, were you more or less sympathetic to the secessionist movement? <\/strong><\/p>\n We bought our place on Peaks Island shortly after we moved here in the 1970s. I certainly understand the feeling that the island is unique; nonetheless, it is a neighborhood of the city, and all neighborhoods feel they are unique. As a city, there are trade-offs between neighborhoods\u2013you don\u2019t get everything you want.<\/p>\n Look at the East End\u2013we had to close a branch of the library. You can\u2019t say the East End is going to secede. I understand Peaks\u2019s uniqueness, but to me it is part of the city.<\/p>\n What\u2018s the biggest difference in the city now compared to when you began at City Hall, after coming from University of Wisconsin in 1969 with your master\u2019s in hand? <\/strong><\/p>\n Diversity of population and the transformation of downtown with real estate and the arts and culture, which are so important to the downtown.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t mean the arrival of L.L. Bean and the Portland Public Market? Those great victories now seem like challenging losses.<\/strong><\/p>\n The reality is, we\u2019ve got Renys taking both Olympia Sports and L.L. Bean\u2019s space. Renys has a long tradition of locating and serving downtown markets. It\u2019s actually very exciting. This is not going to be a long-time gap, which was a concern.<\/p>\n The Public Market is really on the fringe of the Arts District, so it was certainly a disappointment but more for Bayside redevelopment. We were worried after the voters turned down the library\u2019s relocation there. We\u2019re talking about a rather large space\u201325,000 square feet in a uniquely designed building. But at the end of the day, we were able to work quickly for successful reuse [by PowerPay] that brought a considerable number of jobs.<\/p>\n You were with the Redevelopment Authority when Reiche School & Community Center was built. With 20\/20 hindsight, how successful was urban renewal in the West End?<\/strong><\/p>\n I think in the long run, things have worked out. We are what I call a \u201cSlow-Growth Community.\u201d We are very much a consensus community and get neighborhood input; that was not<\/em> the case when I came here. Development was based on a few people sitting with the city council making decisions on what was or wasn\u2019t good for the city.<\/p>\n I think what helped change that was the Models Cities Program. It encouraged very significant citizen input and really helped start a lot of the neighborhood organizations that exist today in terms of wanting some<\/em> input on how their neighborhoods get shaped. That\u2019s had a very positive impact on the city. Overall, the design quality of what\u2019s been built here has been sensitive to the historic character of the city\u2013beyond criticism for the regulations.<\/p>\n Relate an experience or situation where you\u2019ve thought, \u201cOnly in Portland\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Moose running through the streets! The police and public works were calling me with updates as they were tracking the moose, not only through Deering Oaks but all the way up Brighton [Avenue].<\/p>\n What would you most like to see happen in Portland?<\/strong><\/p>\n The Bayside area [developed] with a grander plan, and the waterfront vision realized. I\u2019m proud of the work we did with the East End and waterfront in terms of the master plan, but it\u2019s also one of my biggest frustrations. A lot of the things the plan advocated were approved but not able to be built because of the great recession.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve come full circle with the working waterfront\u2013from the Karen Sanford days of protecting maritime businesses with a waterfront referendum in the 1980s to the recent decision to repeal some of these restrictions. Taking the long view, what are your thoughts about that?<\/strong><\/p>\n I don\u2019t think it\u2019s undoing [restrictions]\u2013as opposed to many, many ports, most of the waterfront property is privately owned\u2013it\u2019s recognizing what\u2019s always been an issue over the last 30 or 40 years: how to achieve an economic balance that protects the traditions of the working waterfont as it relates to fishing and lobstering and yet recognizes\u00a0 the need of pier owners to reach a level of return on their investments so they can reinvest in the piers and wharfs.<\/p>\n But pier owners, and even the lobstermen who were concerned about being displaced, admitted there are significant vacancies in the buildings on the piers\u201325 percent up to 45 percent\u2013[and] they recognized the need to encourage investment.<\/p>\n Is that struggle with losing fishing boats due to Federal regulations shortening time out at sea, forcing boats to other ports so the fishing grounds are closer to \u201chome\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n Oh, yeah, I think that certainly impacted it. On the other hand, I sit on the Fish Pier Authority, and the feeling is in a couple years the fishing stock may be replenished and we may see some degree of relaxation in many of those regulations that will help us.<\/p>\n What decision would you reverse with today\u2019s hindsight?<\/strong><\/p>\n Some budget decisions on operations\u2013snow operations and trash collections operations\u2013where clearly it gets back to the impact of what you see on the streets.<\/p>\n What best represents the city to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n Certainly Portland Observatory. Longfellow Square is very meaningful to me, and Casco Bay Lines is another feature.<\/p>\n Traveling outside Maine, what\u2019s the perception of Portland?<\/strong><\/p>\n We\u2019re an isolated community somewhere near the Arctic Circle with an endless winter.<\/p>\n What did you do that was most \u201cJohn Menario-like\u201d and what did you do that was most \u201cTim Honey-like\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n John was the first manager when I came here. He was instrumental in urban renewal and downtown redevelopment work.<\/p>\n A.J. Wilson was responsible for the first expansion of the Jetport.<\/p>\n Tim was A.J.\u2019s assistant, and he undertook making the waterfront a priority\u2013he took the first look at a master plan.<\/p>\n Bob Ganley had to deal with the transformation of downtown due to the loss of retail base and look at other options. We had the Downtown Master Plan that called for creation of the Arts District. So some of the foundation for that transformation was done during Bob\u2019s tenure but continued under mine in terms of actually seeing it happen.<\/p>\n With the exception of A.J.\u2013he\u2019d been a deputy mayor in St. Louis and was the only one you could say came \u201cfrom away\u201d\u2013the tradition of city managers going back to the mid-1960s has been local. I don\u2019t consider Bob \u201cfrom away\u201dsince he was city manager in South Portland and came over to Portland. It will be interesting as [the city council and mayor] go through this [selection] process on whether the new city manager will be local or \u201cfrom away.\u201d<\/p>\n Tim is still in the community, over on Bradley Street. He does a lot of international work and community development in African countries.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve tried to keep business in Portland with tax increment financing (TIF). But we\u2019ve seen UNUM, for instance, switch their headquarters to Chattanooga in spite of this. What are your thoughts about TIFs as a public financing method used to promote commercial and industrial development?<\/strong><\/p>\n They moved their headquarters, but UNUM maintains a significant presence. We need to be judicious when we give TIFs\u2013what will the financial arrangement between the organization asking for the TIFs and the city be, and what financial return will be given back to the city.<\/p>\n There\u2019s criticism about [the TIF] keeping Pierce Atwood [from leaving Portland by decreasing their taxes], but [the site of their new offices at 258 Commercial Street], as it was, over the life of the TIF, would\u2019ve generated only $640,000 in taxes. Under the arrangement with Pierce Atwood in that building, the city is getting more than $2.8 million.<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to see the Guy Gannett building on 390 Congress Street looking so lonely now, when it was once such a nerve center\u2013our Daily Planet<\/em>. Did you offer inducements for them to remain on the peninsula as owner\/occupants? <\/strong><\/p>\n The new owners [of the Press Herald<\/em>] had excess space in their South Portland printing facility, and we knew there were internal discussions about moving all<\/em> their operations\u2013including news operations and corporate offices\u2013to the South Portland plant, and we did not want to see that occur. We had discussions with Richard Connor and other senior leadership. Not that the city offered them anything\u2013we didn\u2019t\u2013but we impressed upon them the importance we felt about the newspaper keeping a presence in Portland. I don\u2019t know how persuasive our arguments were, but I guess the proof in the pudding is they maintained a significant presence, albeit in a much better space.<\/p>\n Did your bouts with cancer over the last few years have anything to do with your retirement? <\/strong><\/p>\n No, I\u2019m in full remission, so they tell me. I go every six moths for checkups. It really had nothing to do with it; it\u2019s strictly a personal decision my wife and I made:<\/p>\n For our 40th anniversary, my wife and I went to Greece last October. We were staying with friends on the island of Rhodes. She\u2019d been retired 18 months. We talked about if the time was right for me, and we came to the conclusion while sipping wine and looking at the Aegean Sea.<\/p>\n What is your personal opinion of the elected-mayor structure voted in recently by Portland citizens?<\/strong><\/p>\n I don\u2019t think we needed it. The present system works well. The reality is, the manager is still the CEO of the city and will carry the full responsibilities I had\u2013none of that changes. [The manager will be appointed by the mayor], but it\u2019s still a council decision, and the council needs to be comfortable not only with the day-to-day operations of the city but also with the intangibles: There is a chemistry that needs to exist between the manager and the council, a level of confidence and trust in each other. In terms of the mayor, [the new city manager and the mayor] are going to have to work that out between them. The charter envisions the mayor being the spokesperson for the city and laying out a plan for the city, but the manager still has all the day-to-day responsibilities.<\/p>\n What do you feel are your most significant achievements as city manager over the past decade?<\/strong><\/p>\n My work on the East End waterfront\u2013I take pride in the framework we were able to set up for that development; the work in Bayside, which started when I was in the planning office and is now a goal of the [Downtown Portland Corporation] and Economic Development Department; and I\u2019m ultimately very pleased with the shoreway access plan [created] with Portland Trails.<\/p>\n There\u2019s Ocean Gateway terminal, of course, and the growth of the cruise ship industry here.<\/p>\n I also feel the transportation initiatives such as the airport expansion and its level and frequency of service are impressive for a city of this size. Visiting relatives in Lincoln, Nebraska, I was struck that a city roughly three times the size of Portland only had two airlines!<\/p>\n What\u2019s your favorite restaurant?<\/strong><\/p>\n We live on State Street, so right now, one of our favorites is Local 188. We go there a lot. Espo\u2019s is a favorite spur-of-the-moment place. When we are on the ferry, another spur-of-the-moment for seafood is Gilbert\u2019s Chowder House.<\/p>\n We enjoy the Regency\u2019s Armory lounge for a drink at night, and it\u2019s a very pleasant atmosphere. In the summer we really like going to Portland Harbor Hotel\u2019s garden lounge. It\u2019s a really pleasant place to have a drink and relax.<\/p>\n Are you running for Mayor?<\/strong><\/p>\n (Laughs<\/em>) No.<\/p>\n What would your 2011 self say to your 1969 self?<\/strong><\/p>\n It was worth the ride!<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The rank is but the guinea’s stamp
\n<\/strong>The man’s the gowd for a’ that
\n<\/strong>What though on hamely fare we dine
\n<\/strong>Wear hoddin grey, an’ a’ that
\n<\/strong>Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine
\n<\/strong>A man’s a man, for a’ that
\n<\/strong>For a’ that, an’ a’ that
\n<\/strong>Their tinsel show an’ a’ that
\n<\/strong>The honest man, though e’er sae poor
\n<\/strong>Is king o’ men for a’ that<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/gray_1.jpg\" "\\"gray_1\\"")
<\/a>If your career were a movie, give us the trailer.<\/strong><\/p>\n
![\"Bookmark](\"http:\/\/s7.addthis.com\/static\/btn\/lg-share-en.gif\")
<\/a><\/p>\n