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Notes from APP and NMDC
Volume 2, Issue 91
April 25, 2014
In This Issue
Input Needed for GRO-WA
Social Media Intern Wanted for APP/LEAD
Ashland CDBG Funds
Grow Washington-Aroostook planning effort nears completion

     CARIBOU - The most extensive strategic planning process ever undertaken in Aroostook and Washington counties is nearing completion and the public is invited to provide their input.

 

GROWASHINGTON AROOSTOOK  

 

   Grow Washington-Aroostook (Gro-WA) is about economic development, job creation and much more according to lead team member Michael Eisensmith, the director of regional planning at the Northern Maine Development Commission.

    The initiative focused on the key topic areas of economic and workforce development, renewable energy, brownfields and economic renewal, transportation infrastructure, modernizing communications and electric utility infrastructure, sustainable housing, transportation and housing, healthy communities, climate change and infrastructure resilience, water infrastructure investment and growth management law change.

    Information gathered during the process is available at www.gro-wa.org.

    "There is an ability to download and comment on each of the executive summaries on the webpage," said Eisensmith. "The executive summaries represent the essence of each one of the work components that we worked on."

    The executive summaries can be found on the left side of the www.gro-wa.org home page.

    Eisensmith said the report will be finalized in the very near future, but there is still time for people who wish to comment on those sections. He added the deadline for comments is May 2.     

    The lead agency, NMDC, received an $800,000 Sustainable Communities Regional Planning grant from the Housing and Urban Development Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities. Staff from Washington County Council of Governments, Sunrise County Economic Council and the Aroostook Washington Workforce Investment Board provided primary help with work on the grant. They were supplemented by many other partner organizations that helped provide guidance and feedback in exploring the key topic areas referenced above. The ultimate purpose of this process is to point to actionable steps that lead to increased job creation and economic stability.

    "The Gro-WA plan looks at a wide variety of economic, environmental and social issues and provides a broad game plan to move our economy forward," said Eisensmith.

    For more information or to comment, contact Eisensmith at [email protected] or by phone at 493-5763.

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APP/LEAD seek paid social media intern

   The "Opportunities Aroostook" social media intern for LEADers Encouraging Aroostook Development and Aroostook Partnership for Progress will be instrumental in launching a unique social media presence to attract and retain younger workers in Aroostook County.

   The intern will be responsible for:

  • Launching Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other sites to achieve the objectives of the "Opportunities Aroostook" initiative
  • Create and maintain a content editorial calendar
  • Engage strategic partners to grow the reach of social media sites
  • Aggregate and/or create articles and video content
  • Communicate exciting social media news (internal and external)
  • Update website, as needed
  • Track website statistics

 Qualifications:

  • Familiar with Twitter and Facebook
  • Passionate about Social Media, friendly and conversational
  • Entrepreneurial
  • Must be detail oriented, team player and technologically savvy
  • Estimated weekly hours are 16-20 hours per week for an estimated 12 weeks. (Schedule is flexible, but most of the hours will be frontloaded to launch social media sites.)

   To apply: Please send resume, cover letter to Jon Gulliver, Director of Investor and Community Relations Aroostook Partnership for Progress, P.O. Box 779, Caribou, ME 04736 or by email at [email protected]. Deadline for applications is May 16, 2014.

  

Equal Opportunity Employer

Ashland to receive CDBG funds for water and sewer upgrades

 

     ASHLAND - The town of Ashland is getting a water and sewer upgrade thanks to a more than $600,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) from Maine Department of Economic and Community Development.

    Joella Theriault, Community Development Specialist with Northern Maine Development Commission, was asked to write the grant application for the CDBG Public Infrastructure Program after previously securing CDBG funds for Ecoshel, Inc. and a community center at the former Central Street School.

    The $640,000 award will be used to fund two major projects said Theriault. The first, with a price tag of $250,000, is the installation of an aeration system to reduce the levels of copper and lead in the drinking water supply. The second project is the replacement of 3,060 linear feet of water main on the Garfield Road, at a cost of $390,000.

    Theriault said the project received the CDBG funds for some good reasons.

    "The Water and Sewer District had already raised sewer rates by 50 percent in July 2012 and raised water rates by 7.5 percent effective January 2014," she said. "Users could not afford another rate increase to fund this project. In order to fund this project with users; rates would have to be increased another 40 percent."

    Theriault added, legislation approved last session for a public (Maine Department of Transportation)/private (EJ Carrier) partnership to update a portion of the Garfield Road to allow larger sized trucks to travel local roads is due for completion this construction season so it was important for the District to replace the water line to coincide with the road reconstruction project.

    Matching funds for this project are $600,000 from MDOT/Carrier for road reconstruction and $160,000 from Ashland Water and Sewer District.

    "If anyone is interested in applying for CDBG funds, they should contact me so that I might provide technical assistance in preparing them to submit an application, such as meeting a national objective of the program, explanation of the Phase I and Phase II (Project Development) applications, timeline for applying, grant writing services and citizen participation," said Theriault.

    For more information, contact Theriault at 543-1802 or by email at [email protected].


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