Please vote at town elections to support Island Workforce Housing’s third party funding request of $6,000 from each town. There are no state or federal funding resources available for rental housing serving middle-income households. IWH relies entirely on the generosity of the town voters, local businesses, and private donors.  We greatly appreciate your continued support!

2025 Stonington Town Elections
Monday, March 3, 8:00am-12 noon
Stonington Town Office, 2nd Floor
Stonington 2024 Town Report
IWH’s Request Letter to the town of Stonington
Stonington Sample Ballot

2025 Deer Isle Town Elections
Monday, March 3, 7:30am-12 noon
Deer Isle Town Office
Deer Isle 2024 Town Report
IWH’s Request Letter to the town of Deer Isle

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Both Town Meetings will be held at 3pm the same day at their respective Town Offices. Meetings can be viewed online, but zoom attendees will not be able to speak or vote.

Stonington Zoom Registration Link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/NSC5KkeSQtmMnPqJps02Gw

Deer Isle Zoom Link
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6284562083?pwd=bHhpaDIyRlBMNU9nbWcvR3hUWkhBQT09&omn=82719088012 
Meeting ID: 628 456 2083
Passcode: deerisle
One tap mobile +13052241968,,6284562083#,,,,*17251688# US
Dial in:  +1 305 224 1968  Meeting ID: 628 456 2083  Passcode: 17251688

Now accepting applications for two-bedroom rental apartments in Deer Isle, for rolling occupancy as apartments become available.

Applications are due by Wednesday July 10, 2024 at 3:00 pm

For more information, please visit: https://www.islandworkforcehousing.org/applications

Listening Session on Housing Options
Jim Damicis and Robert O’Brien, of Camoin Associates, will facilitate a public workshop and listening session on housing on Tuesday, June 25 at 6 pm on the second floor of the Stonington Town Hall.

When: Tuesday, June 25, 2024 @ 6:00pm
Where: Town Hall, 2nd floor
For more information, please see attached notice:
Listening Session on Housing Options (PDF)

The session will help to frame the local housing problem and highlight recent work, providing a menu of housing strategies and opportunities for participants to consider with a focus on capturing residents’ visions for how to resolve this critical community challenge.

Topic: Workforce Housing in Maine's Historic Coastal Downtowns

Join us in for a conversation with other planning and housing experts to talk about the roles we can all play in sustaining our year round communities through housing.

Social Hour at 6 pm, Conversation begins at 7pm

Town Meetings in both Deer Isle and in Stonington will be held on Monday March 11th at their respective Town Offices from 1pm-4pm.

Deer Isle 2023 Town Report
Stonington 2023 Town Report
Stonington Town Meeting Register to receive a Zoom Link

* Third Party Funding requests will be voted on during Town Elections in Deer Isle, and during Town Meeting in Stonington.

Please vote to support Island Workforce Housing’s funding request of $6,000 from each town.

Please vote to support Island Workforce Housing’s funding request of $6,000 from each town.

2024 Deer Isle Town Elections
* Elections include Third Party Funding requests
Tuesday, March 5, 8am-8pm
Deer Isle Town Office
Deer Isle 2023 Town Report
Deer Isle Proposed Comprehensive Plan
Deer Isle Proposed Commercial Site Plan Review Ordinance

2024 Stonington Town Elections
* Third Party Funding requests will be voted on at Town Meeting
Tuesday, March 5, 8am-8pm
Stonington Town Office
Stonington Sample Ballot
Stonington 2023 Town Report

Both Town Meetings will be held the following Monday March 11th at their respective Town Offices from 1pm-4pm
Link for more info

You're invited to an open house at Oliver's Ridge! 

Sunday July 16th, 2023
from 2:00 - 5:00pm

Please join Island Workforce Housing in celebrating the completion of our first project. We are excited to welcome everyone to take a tour before the first tenants move in.

Location: 341 Sunset Crossroad, Deer Isle, ME 04627

We couldn't have done this without the support of our donors and community, and we can't wait to share it with you. This event is open to the public!

Download a printable version of this poster here if you would like to tell others about it.

Fully completed applications must be received by Saturday June 30, 2023 at 3:00pm.

Completed applications can be:

• Mailed to Island Workforce Housing at PO Box 523, Deer Isle, ME 04627

• Scanned and emailed to mail@islandworkforcehousing.org.

• or Dropped in the dropboxes that will be outside of:

  • 44 North Coffee in Deer Isle Village

  • The Island Agency in Stonington

www.islandworkforcehousing.com/applications

Three information sessions will be held for potentially interested households:

• Tuesday, April 25th at 6:30 pm at the Deer Isle Town Office
• Saturday, May 20th at 2:00 pm at the Island Community Center in Stonington
• Thursday, May 25th at 6:30 pm at the Stonington Town Hall

Three information sessions will be held for potentially interested households:

• Tuesday, April 25th at 6:30 pm at the Deer Isle Town Office
• Saturday, May 20th at 2:00 pm at the Island Community Center in Stonington
• Thursday, May 25th at 6:30 pm at the Stonington Town Hall

Three information sessions will be held for potentially interested households:

• Tuesday, April 25th at 6:30 pm at the Deer Isle Town Office
• Saturday, May 20th at 2:00 pm at the Island Community Center in Stonington
• Thursday, May 25th at 6:30 pm at the Stonington Town Hall

Please support Island Workforce Housing’s funding request of $6,000 from each town!

2023 Stonington Town Meeting

Monday March 6th, 2022 at 3:00 PM
Stonington Town Office, 2nd Floor

Town Report

(Elections are held at the same location from 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM)

Please vote to support Island Workforce Housing’s funding request of $6,000 from each town!

2023 Deer Isle Town Elections
Monday, March 6, 7:30am-12pm
Deer Isle Town Office

Town Report

(Town Meeting will be held later that day at the Town Office at 3:00pm)

Please vote to support Island Workforce Housing’s funding request of $7,500 from each town!

2022 Deer Isle Town Meeting
Sat, March 5, 3-5pm
Deer Isle-Stonington High School Gymnasium, 251 N Deer Isle Rd, Deer Isle, ME 04627, USA (map)

Town Meeting Warrant

Note - Zoom attendees cannot vote on warrant items - you must attend in person to vote.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82908896995?pwd=Ym5BTFFjUG05aXZFOVVoaGJyeURPdz09
One tap mobile+19292056099,,82908896995#,,,,*450613# US
Dial by your location +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
Meeting ID: 829 0889 6995Passcode: 450613

(Polls for Town Elections will be open from 7:30 AM to 12:00 PM on Saturday, March 5th at the Deer Isle Town Office)

Please vote to support Island Workforce Housing’s funding request of $7,500 from each town!

2022 Stonington Town Meeting
March 5th, 2022, 1:00 PM
Stonington Town Office, 2nd Floor

Town Meeting Warrant

(Polls for Town Elections will be open from 7:00 AM to 11:00 AM on Saturday, March 5th at the same location)

Wednesday July 14th from 4-5pm on WERU, listen to IWH Treasurer Peter Roth chat with Molly Siegel of Isle au Haut ICDC, Marla O’Byrne of MDI Island Housing Trust, and host Ron Beard about local community efforts to support workforce housing.

Listening options:

WERU Community Radio 89.8 FM

Stream online: http://pacificaservice.org:8000/weru

If you miss the live stream you can listen anytime at: https://archives.weru.org/category/talk-of-the-towns/

After a one-year hiatus, the Deer Isle-Stonington Independence Day Celebration will make its return with festivities taking place all day on Sunday, July 4. A schedule of events are listed below. Some additional events may be added.

ISLAND COMMUNITY CENTER STONINGTON 600
Weekend virtual run/walk, for more information and to register: www.islandcommunitycenter.net

MASONIC LODGE ANNUAL LOBSTER LUNCH
Masonic Hall in Deer Isle at 12:00pm

OASIS CAFÉ
Deer Isle Sunset Congregational Church at 2:00pm

4TH OF JULY PARADE
Deer Isle Village at 3:00pm

FOOD VENDORS AND LIVE MUSIC
Music by: Along for the Ride and Don Boudreau as Elvis
Stonington Fish Pier at 5:00pm

FIREWORKS
Stonington Harbor at 9:15pm

https://www.deerisle.com/event/deer-isle-stonington-independence-day-celebration/

Please vote to support Island Workforce Housing’s funding request of $5,000 from the town of Stonington!

Stonington’s annual Town Meeting will be held at 9:00 AM on May 15th, at the ballfield across the street from the island community center. Article #93 is Island Workforce Housing’s $5,000 funding request, to help complete fundraising for construction.

If you are a registered Stonington voter, please show up to support this funding request!

We need your voice and your vote to help get this article passed, so that we can reach our goal of ensuring a place to live for year-round workers, families, and community members in Deer Isle and Stonington for generations to come.

If you are curious to learn more about our project, or have questions about it, IWH is hosting a community conversation over Zoom. This meeting will be on Wednesday April 28th, 2021 at 5:00pm. This is open to the public; anyone interested is encouraged to attend and come prepared with questions.

Topic: Island Workforce Housing's Community Conversation

Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86870476121?pwd=MUZ4N3U3U05CWDBRZytBMGh6dGxWZz09

Meeting ID: 868 7047 6121

Passcode: 393163

One tap mobile: +16465588656,,86870476121#,,,,*393163# US (New York)

Dial by your location: +1 646 558 8656

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kx73bVvyO

We had originally planned to have a public information session on April 12th, at 5:00pm. In light of the death of Mike Wood, our beloved friend and Board Chair, we have decided to cancel this first planned session. We hope you will be able to attend the second, on April 28th. If there is continued interest after that meeting, we will plan another future session. Thank you for your understanding.

On Thursday April 8th the Deer Isle Select Board will again take up Island Workforce Housing’s property tax exemption application.

The school is first on the agenda so it is expected that our portion of the discussion will begin at 5:30 PM.

Our responses to the select board’s questions can be found in this PDF document.

Because of covid safety protocols, we need to limit the number of supporters attending in person. We've spoken with a handful of folks who will attend in person, and we are kindly requesting that everyone else, if you haven't heard from us directly, please join via Zoom:

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6284562083?pwd=SHR5cENWUlIxbHYwL0x4VlY3cElyQT09

Passcode: DeerIsle!

Dial in +1 (301) 715-8592

Meeting ID: 628 456 2083

Passcode: 874437769

One tap mobile +19292056099,,6284562083#,,,,*874437769#

Their questions were written out in the minutes from the previous meeting meeting. Many of them have been answered in our public documents: the needs assessment, strategic plan, planning board application, covenants, and recent newspaper articles. We described the relevant portions of those in our response, and attached the documentation.

The discrimination concerns are answerable by the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or national origin, and the Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Plan, which allows a residency preference for persons who reside or work in a specified geographic area, as long as those preferences are clearly stated in marketing and application documents.

We are very proud of the wide local support for the project, and we hope these answers address the board's concerns and questions.

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6284562083?pwd=SHR5cENWUlIxbHYwL0x4VlY3cElyQT09

Passcode: DeerIsle!

Dial in +1 (301) 715-8592

Meeting ID: 628 456 2083

Passcode: 874437769

One tap mobile +19292056099,,6284562083#,,,,*874437769#

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Deer Isle Selectboard Agenda

On March 25th at 5:00pm, the Deer Isle Selectboard will be considering Island Workforce Housing's property tax exemption application. We've submitted a comprehensive application that checks every box, and after examining Maine’s statutes we understand that IWH qualifies to receive a property tax exemption.

We are asking our Deer Isle residents to attend this zoom meeting. We would appreciate your show of support!

In the interest of having a productive and efficient meeting, we request that everyone mute themselves, unless the selectmen call for public comment.

Thank you, and please let us know if you have any questions.

Please vote to support Island Workforce Housing’s funding request of $5,000 from each town!

Please vote to support Island Workforce Housing’s funding request of $5,000 from each town!

Please vote to support Island Workforce Housing’s funding request of $5,000 from each town!

The Blue Hill Public Library’s Community Forum series continues on Wednesday December 11th at 6:30 PM. The topic will be Stimulating Affordable Housing.

This forum will address issues of employment and social opportunities along with workforce housing in the Blue Hill area, with a focus on exploring ways to stimulate workforce housing in the coming years. Subjects for discussion will include the unmet demand for housing on the peninsula, current affordable housing options, and programs and new ideas that have had success addressing housing issues.

Presenters will be Bruce Stahnke, architect; Mike Wood, Chairman of Island Workforce Housing; Marla O’Byrne, Executive Director of Island Housing Trust on MDI; and Chuck Lawrence, owner of Tradewinds Markets. The program will be moderated by Dr. Gregory Bush.

This event is sponsored by the library, and is free and open to everyone. For more information contact the library at 374-5515.

Location: Blue Hill Public Library: Second Floor, Howard Room

http://www.bhpl.net/events/blue-hill-community-forum-stimulating-affordable-housing/

Come to Burnt Cove Church on Saturday, September 28th, for a benefit concert to support Island Workforce Housing! 7-10 PM, music by Angelikah Fahray with Billy Giordano’s Eastern Puma; DJ Saté; and KLO + Star Warren. Food by Catch The Cart food truck.

Please join us for a late-summer introduction to our research and future plans!

Join us at the Deer Isle Town Office on Wednesday, August 14th 2019 at 5:00 pm for a public information session. Come learn what Island Workforce Housing is all about, what we’ve been up to this past year, and meet the members of our group! We will present our mission statement, our current work, and our future plans.