Designation gains funds for County Region to get up to $4 million annually

CARIBOU – It took more than three years and as many tries, but Aroostook County finally has been designated as a Rural Development Empowerment Zone.

The designation brings with it millions of federal dollars to be used to attract businesses and jobs to the region and the chance to apply for millions of dollars more.

The announcement of the designation was made Thursday by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman and passed along to the Northern Maine Development Commission by members of the state’s congressional delegation.

“I’m extremely pleased that Secretary Veneman has approved the exemplary application that was put forth by the Northern Maine Development Commission and so many others in Aroostook County,” U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said in a press release. “Empowerment Zone designation will help attract new residents and business and give the area the boost it needs to enjoy the economic success other parts of the country have enjoyed.”

“Aroostook County has a long and proud tradition of hard-working people who are willing to pull together to face challenges,” U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe said in a press release. “However, there comes a time when additional resources and assistance may be necessary for a community to achieve its fullest potential.”

“This is a major victory for the people and economy of Aroostook County,” U.S. Rep. John Baldacci, a member of the House Agriculture Committee, said in a press release. “Everyone involved in this process should be proud of the patience, perseverance and hard work it has taken to receive this designation.”

The NMDC application for Aroostook County was one of only two selected from 55 across the country. The County is the only Rural Development Empowerment Zone in the Northeast, according to Robert Clark, NMDC executive director.

In 1999, the NMDC was selected as a Champion Community, two steps lower than the Empowerment Zone designation.

Between 1990 and 2000, Aroostook County lost about 13,000 people, or 15 percent of its population. Clark said it was because of that out-migration that the NMDC application was selected.

During that time, Loring Air Force Base closed and the region saw a decline in its resource-based industries, including timber and potato farming.

“This allows us to address the problem,” said Clark. “This will provide us with a lot of additional funding that traditionally we haven’t had.”

The new funding will come in the form of $2 million to $4 million a year for each of the next 10 years, Clark said. The NMDC can use that money to assist communities, local government agencies and businesses with services, building projects and planning and as seed money or to help leverage other partners for projects ranging from social services and health care to education and economic development.

The funds also may be used for such things as tax credits, tax-exempt financing and other federal tax benefits designed to stimulate economic growth.

More than just the annual funding, however, Clark said the designation allows the NMDC to apply for other federal funds, such as a share of about $42 million that is available for rural business and economic development.

“Who knows what will happen in 10 years?” he said. “This will open up doors and opportunities that will reach well beyond 10 years.”