‘Without families, there is no future’

EDITOR’S NOTE: At a meeting of the Penobscot Appeals Board on Sept. 12, resident Kayleigh Reynolds addressed attendees from the audience, providing her view on housing needs in the area. Following is her written testimony, which has been only lightly edited for clarity and is published here in its entirety with her permission. The Rising Tide welcomes diverse views, which may be sent to info@risingtide.media.

By Kayleigh Reynolds

I’m speaking to you tonight as a young mother, a wife, and a proud member of a family with deep roots in Penobscot. 

We have been listening to the concerns of the appellants, I would like to talk about some concerns that I have as a citizen of Penobscot. 

My husband and I moved here eight years ago not because it was trendy, or convenient, but because this is where my family lives. The land and love they built over generations. My stepfather’s family has deep, lifelong ties to this town. 

When my son was born, he was the youngest child in town. And around that same time, my great-grandfather, his great-great-grandfather was awarded the Boston Cane as the oldest living resident in Penobscot. At that moment the youngest and the oldest residents of Penobscot.

Kayleigh Reynolds (far right) at the Penobscot Appeals Board hearing on Sept. 12, along with her brother, Kole Austin, her mother, Jennifer Austin, and her stepfather, Kurt Austin. Photo by John Boit.

My son is now a student at Penobscot Community School. Making him the fourth generation in our family to walk those halls. That school is not just a building to us. It's a piece of our family’s story, and of this town’s soul. Today, our school is in danger of being consolidated, not because it’s failing, but because there aren’t enough children left in town to fill its classrooms. 

If we lose that school, we don’t just lose a building, we lose the heart of this town. We lose what makes Penobscot a community and not just a collection of summer homes. 

That kind of loss doesn’t happen overnight. It happens when we miss chances to welcome new families, new children, and new life into our town

I am incredibly grateful for the life we’ve been able to build here, but I also recognize how fragile that opportunity has become for families like mine. Affordable housing is nearly impossible to find. And we are not talking about big developments or outsiders coming to change the face of the town. We are talking about giving young families, working people, the chance to live in, or stay in, a place they already call home. It isn’t about bringing in “outsiders.” It’s about making sure our children, our neighbors, our aging parents, and the people who care for all of them, have a place to live.

The message being sent by the appellants is loud and clear: we don’t want people like you here. And to be honest, it hurts. Because I’ve worked hard to be here. My family worked even harder. We care about this place. We ARE this place. And I know many other families just like mine who would love to call Penobscot home if only they could find a place to live

And here’s the truth: Penobscot needs people like that.

Right now, families are being priced out. People are buying homes over asking price to retire here. While families who want to live and raise kids here simply can’t afford to. And if we continue on this path, there will be no next generation. No students. No families. No future.

We must support efforts like this. Because without families, there is no future for Penobscot.

In last year’s town report, there were more deaths than births in Penobscot. This is not just a statistic. It’s a sign. Our population is aging. Our town is shrinking: in 2023, we had four births and 15 deaths. In 2024, we had seven births and 14 deaths. 

What’s happening now is not just opposition, it’s obstruction. It's intimidation. It's an effort to block progress by stirring up fear. And it's targeting a private property owner.

Affordable housing is not a threat. It’s a solution. It’s a lifeline to people who are already part of this town and people who could help it thrive in the years ahead. This isn’t about lowering standards or changing the character of the town. It’s about living up to the values of community, kindness, and fairness. 

I love this town. My family built their lives here with hard work and heart. I’m raising my son here because I want him to grow up in a place that values people over property lines, neighbors over noise, and community over control. 

So I ask, which direction do we want Penobscot to go? Do we want to open the door to young families, working people, and a healthier future? Or do we want to keep shutting that door until there’s no one left to walk through it because it obstructed your view?

This is bigger than one property. This is about who we are as a town.

I love Penobscot. I love it because it raised the people who raised me.

—Reynolds is a resident of Penobscot.