News from APP/NMDC

Notes from APP and NMDC

Volume 1, Issue 38

March 1, 2013

In This Issue

Biomass Fair Update

Titan Challenge

Tax Workshop Scheduled

Space still available for Biomass Fair at UMFK April 6

FORT KENT - The second Aroostook Partnership for Progress (APP) Biomass Fair is rapidly approaching and organizers are working to finalize the details.

The fair will be held Saturday, April 6 at the University of Maine Fort Kent Sports Complex from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The event will feature experts and vendors from local pellet manufacturers, stove/boiler suppliers, engineering firms and banks to answer questions and help guide people through the options and process of establishing a system for a business or home.

Bob Dorsey, the president and CEO of APP, said the purpose of the fair is to educate people about energy alternatives, which can help them save money, promote an Aroostook resource (wood) and keep money in the local economy. The fair will be very similar to the first held last spring at the University of Maine Presque Isle, but will include new technology and emphasize small business conversions as well as residential.

APP organized the Biomass Fair because it fits in with the organization's message of business growth and business retention.

"Biomass it is really important for Aroostook County," Dorsey said. "We have the forest products, the pellet production, the installers, delivery and maintenance so from an economic perspective it is huge."

Dorsey added that using a biomass heating solution, essentially 100 percent of the money spent stays in the County or region.

Last year, Daigle Oil Company, Northeast Pellets, The County Stove Shop, Kitchen and Bath, MESys, Northeast Pellets, Trane, Pelletco, County Federal Credit Union, Amazing Heat, Sewall, Portage & Maine, Thayer, UMPI, Corinth Wood Pellets and Mechanical Services, had displays at the first fair and many will be back this spring.

There is still space available for retailers, engineering firms and others who want to promote their products and services to the people of Aroostook County. The cost for vendors to participate is $50.

For more information, contact Dorsey or Jon Gulliver, Director of Investor and Community Relations at rdorsey@nmdc.org, jgulliver@nmdc.org or by phone at (207) 498-8736.

Empowerment Zone tax incentives delayed

CARIBOU - Aroostook County businesses hoping to utilize Empowerment Zone (EZ) tax incentives following passage of the American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA) of 2012 will have to wait a little longer for the tax relief.

The tax incentives orginally expired on Dec. 31, 2011, and ATRA extended the incentives through Dec. 31, 2013, but a wrinkle in the way it is reauthorized will cause a delay.

"Unfortunately the extension of the Empowerment Zone benefits to the Aroostook County Empowerment Zone is not automatic," said Mike Eisensmith, director of regional planning Northern Maine Development Commission (NMDC). "Those tax benefits will be available, but will be dependent on a process being developed between the US departments of Agriculture and Housing and Urban Development to allow for a new termination date which would take it to Dec. 31, 2013."

Eisensmith added that until that process is agreed upon and we know how it works businesses in Aroostook County would not be able to apply for the incentives.

"Long and short of it is, at this point in time, we are in a holding pattern," he said.

Upon completion of the process NMDC, the original applicant, will apply for the extension to Dec. 31, 2013 which will retroactively include calendar year 2012.

Eisensmith recommends business owners consult with their accountants or tax professionals. An amended return, once the process is complete, may be necessary to receive the incentives.

The EZ employment credit provides businesses with an incentive to hire individuals who both live and work in an empowerment zone. In January 2002, parts of Aroostook County were designated as the Aroostook County Empowerment Zone. The empowerment zone program was created in the early 1990s by the federal government to aid distressed communities by providing opportunities for growth and revitalization.

More information on the Aroostook County Empowerment Zone is available at www.aroostookez.com.

Current use tax workshop scheduled for March 15 at NMDC in Caribou

CARIBOU - Northern Maine Development Commission (NMDC) is sponsoring a current use tax workshop Friday, March 15 at NMDC's office in Caribou. The workshop will begin at 10 a.m. and end at noon.
Topics for the session include:

Farmland and Tree Growth Property Tax
Farmland Registration
Maine Voluntary Municipal Farm Support Program

"In recent years, Maine's four current-use property tax programs have been a useful way for communities to further encourage private landowners to keep current working land-use patterns and landscapes intact," said NMDC Senior Planner Jay Kamm. "This workshop will cover the purpose, eligibility criteria and application procedures for the Farmland and Tree Growth Property Tax Programs."

Presenters will be from the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry: Stephanie Gilbert, Division of Agriculture Resource Development and Andy Shultz or Michael Rochester, Maine Forest Service.

To register for the free workshop, contact Kamm at NMDC, jkamm@nmdc.org or 498-8736.

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