NMDC secures microloan funds
CARIBOU - Businesses in Aroostook and Washington counties needing a little financial help now have another avenue to the needed funds. The Northern Maine Development Commission (NMDC) was notified Friday of a $1,250,000 loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Microloan Program.
The funds are loaned to qualified applicants in small amounts, not to exceed $50,000, for a maximum term of six years. The average microloan nationally is $13,000.
"The loans are used for new business or minimal expansion," said Duane Walton, director of business finance at NMDC.
The loans can also be used for working capital or the purchase of inventory, supplies, furniture, fixtures, machinery and/or equipment.
Walton said the approval of $1,250,000 is significant, as it is the most the SBA will award, and with realignment of economic development regions, where Aroostook and Washington counties are served by NMDC, there was a requirement for additional funds.
"I believe there will be an increase in economic development in the region and that means there will be an increase in need," said Walton.
He said he expects half of the loans to be in Washington County the other half in Aroostook.
"We asked for the extra money for Washington County and we still have money to loan to businesses in Aroostook County like we always have," he said.
NMDC is well versed in the microloan program having made 224 loans totaling $4,009,905, creating 281 jobs and retaining 639 jobs with these funds.
It is the prior success with the program, which Walton said allowed the SBA to approve the application in just about a month, a quick period for the federal government.
Another benefit of the microloan program is each applicant will be eligible for and will be contacted concerning technical assistance provided free of charge by the Business Finance Department. Technical assistance is available concerning all aspects of the business and business development. A representative will provide ongoing assistance to help grow the venture and achieve the short term and long-term goals of the business.
"We work very closely with the applicant after the fact to make sure they are successful," Walton said.
For more information on the microloan program contact the Business Finance Division at NMDC at (207) 498-8736 or go online at www.nmdc.org.
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Members of the Aroostook Partnership for Progress Biomass Working Group discuss methods of tracking renewable energy conversion projects in The County.
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Biomass group meets to
track progress
CARIBOU - Although the winter heating season is months away the Aroostook Partnership for Progress (APP) Biomass Working Group is still pressing on with efforts to educate the public about the potential benefits of biomass.
Meeting June 18 at the Northern Maine Development Commission, 15 members of the group gathered to discuss plans for another biomass fair next winter or early spring and to come up with methods for tracking how many commercial and residential buildings are converting to renewable energy heating solutions.
APP held its first ever biomass fair at the University of Maine Presque Isle in May and this was the first meeting of the working group, made up of pellet producers, energy suppliers, bankers, development officials, retailers and others, since the event.
Bob Dorsey, president of APP, asked members for feedback and comments were positive.
"The people that were there had a direct interest," said Mike Eisensmith, who staffed the NMDC/APP booth at the event.
"The people we talked to were serious about heating equipment," said Dan Vaillancourt, president of Daigle Oil Company.
Planning for the second biomass fair will continue this fall.
Also at the meeting the group was updated on some of the major biomass conversion projects in the region, which includes Caribou, Fort Fairfield and Houlton High Schools. Those three biomass conversions will save the three districts more than $430,000 thousand dollars annually.
"Success breeds success and if we can track the savings and show how significant they are in a quantifiable way it would really be a valuable piece of information for anybody to use," said Alain Ouellette, planning and development division director at NMDC.
The working group is also trying to get a better handle on approximate number of residential installations done. Some of the pellet stove retailers and installers in attendance said they could provide the number of sales on a semiannual basis. They are not being asked for specifics like brand or price.
The Biomass Working Group is a result of the Mobilize Northern Maine initiative, which identified renewable energy as an avenue for economic development in Aroostook County.
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SHARPS program lauded by DEP
CARIBOU - A Cary Medical Center program, which takes needles and other medical "sharps" out of the waste stream, was lauded by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection recently. The DEP also presented the hospital with a grant for $10,000 to purchase additional disposal kiosks for the towns of Fort Kent, Madawaska, Fort Fairfield and Houlton.
Early on in the development of the sharps disposal program Caribou Police Chief, Michael Gahagan, offered to host a disposal kiosk in the lobby of the Caribou Police Station. The Caribou Rotary Club donated $3,500 to purchase the first kiosk and the success of the program encouraged other communities to get involved. The Presque Isle Police Department agreed to host a similar kiosk and the Maine Community Foundation provided funding of $3,000 to purchase the unit.
Before the project ever reached the kiosk stage Lisa Prescott, a laboratory technician at Cary Medical Center spearheaded the sharps disposal issue with a personal passion and commitment, according to hospital officials.
"She [Prescott] is to be commended for her remarkable effort that has led to such a dynamic and successful program," said Kris Doody, RN, CEO of Cary Medical Center.
The Northern Maine Development Commission working with Cary provided a $3,000 grant to help educate the public about safe sharps disposal.
"The disposal of home generated needles, syringes and lancets or medical "sharps" has become a growing problem not only in the United States, but in northern Maine as well, said Connie Akerson, an environmental planner with NMDC. "Many residents have medical conditions that require self-injection at home. More than 6,000 people in northern Maine use "sharps" on a routine basis. Most are discarded in the municipal solid waste stream, posing risk, injury and the risk of infection to anyone to encounters them. Without a safe disposal program for such medical waste, people use whatever disposal method is most convenient, and end up disposing of them along with regular household trash or in public restrooms."
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NMDC outreach to member
communities continues
 | | Brian Longstaff, Regional Planning Program Director for NMDC ( in the white shirt), addresses municipal officials on the many services available to their communities. |
HOULTON - Officials with the Northern Maine Development Commission reached out to selectmen and women and town managers in the southern Aroostook region for an informal gathering to see with what needs NMDC can assist municipalities, in addition to the services already received by member communities. The luncheon in Houlton Wednesday featured representatives from Ludlow, Hammond, Danforth, Reed Plantation, Weston, Houlton and other communities. "We are trying to be a bit more engaged than we have in the past," said Bob Clark, executive director of NMDC. "We want to see how we can be more help to you." Some of the informal discussion centered on bulk purchasing of items, possibly office supplies, what funds may be available for the acquisition of an ambulance for multiple small towns in the Amity, Weston, Orient and Danforth area, and the potential for community development block grants for new construction of municipal buildings. A similar outreach gathering was held recently in Van Buren and another will be scheduled for the Presque Isle region later this year. |
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