Ashland, Van Buren receive grants to help fund local projects County gets money for labor database

CARIBOU – Ashland, Van Buren and Aroostook County have received grants from the United States Department of Agriculture and the Department of Housing and Urban Development to assist with housing programs and to update a survey of employees and employers in Maine’s northernmost county.

The Ashland Housing Corp. has been given a grant of $391,215 for its housing needs, Van Buren is receiving $346,500 and Aroostook County will get $180,000, according to Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins.

The money comes from nearly $4.5 million distributed throughout the state by the two federal agencies.

The Economic Development Initiative money can only be used in projects where Section 108 Loan Program money is used.

“This funding will help provide vital opportunities for rural Mainers to enhance community services and health care facilities and boost economic growth in areas that need it the most,” the two senators wrote in a joint statement. “Many Americans aspire to own their own home and funding provided by the Department of Housing and Urban Development can often help make that dream a reality.”

Daniel Lapointe, community development director at Van Buren, said the grant is part of the package for infrastructure work at the town’s regional business park.

The grant is one of three sources of funding. Van Buren also received $499,800 from USDA Rural Development and $150,000 from the state’s Municipal Investment Trust Fund.

The entire project is just shy of $1 million. It will pay for sewer and water line installation, construction of a road to the site, and the installation of other needed utilities.

The regional business park, located near the town’s Gateway School, will have five lots for business and industrial use.

Lapointe said the town is now in the design phase and officials hope that construction will begin in the fall. They are awaiting Maine Department of Environmental Protection permits for the project.

In Ashland, the money will be used to rehabilitate a 32-year-old housing project. The 24-unit project, known as Forest View Circle Apartments, according to Shawn Pelletier of CS Management Inc., is owned by the Ashland Housing Corp.

Officials hope to start the rehabilitation project around Aug. 1.

The work includes roof and siding work, windows, electrical and plumbing components, heating upgrades, the remodeling of kitchens and some earthwork.

The Aroostook County money will be used to update surveys of the county’s labor force. The data will be integrated into a database maintained by the Maine Department of Labor and the U.S. Census Bureau.