The Economic Development Program (EDP) provides communities with gap funding to assist identified businesses in the creation and or retention of jobs for low and moderate income people. The funds are administered by DECD as part of the federally funded Community Development Block Grant Program.
"There were significant changes to the program here in Maine which increased the demand for and ease of access to the program this year," said Maine Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) Commissioner George Gervais.
The list of the communities and businesses benefiting are as follows:
• Lincoln - LMJ Enterprises, LLC $200,000 for increased production, retaining 8 jobs. • Belfast - Front Street Shipyard $200,000 for a 30 ton capacity crane; heated spray booth and upgraded dock, creating 10 new jobs. • Fort Kent - Riverview Homes, Inc. $90,000 for expansion of workshop facility, 3 new jobs. • Winslow - Orion Ropeworks, LLC $115,000 for municipal owned infrastructure improvements, creating 4 new jobs. • Hartland - Tasman Leather Group, LLC $200,000 for new steam generators and increased production, creating 7 new jobs.
"These funds are instrumental to the continued expansion of the yard," said Front Street Shipyard President JB Turner. "Without this money we would have been stopped dead in our tracks and unable to hire 10 new people," continued Turner.
"These awards have a direct impact on jobs and new revenue benefiting not only these particular communities but the entire state," said Commissioner Gervais. "We'll be assessing the full results for 2012 very soon."
Projects receiving Economic Development Program funds must provide a 100% cash match of the total EDP award and matching funds must be directly related to the activities undertaken with EDP funding.
These successful applicants now move into the project development phase of the program which must be completed within 3 months.
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