STONINGTON – The towns of Stonington and Isle au Haut are seeking money that would provide working capital for the fledgling Penobscot East Resource Center.

Officials from both towns will hold a joint public hearing at 2 p.m. Monday, May 2, at the Stonington town offices to discuss their joint application for a $140,000 economic development grant though the Community Development Block Grant program.

The hearing will be followed by a special town meeting to approve submission of the application.

“This will provide the operating capital that will be funneled through the towns” to the resource center, said Stonington Town Manager Richard Avery. “This will create approximately seven [low- to middle-income] jobs.”

The towns are working together on the grant application because they jointly own the Colwell property on the Stonington shore where the center plans to make its home. Earlier this year, the towns’ application for money to move the building at the site was not funded.

The feedback the towns received on the application was that there were too many steps between moving the building and the creation of jobs, Avery said Wednesday. The resource center is developing programs, such as a lobster hatchery in town, which already are creating work, he said.

“This grant will flow right into their budget to help with the creation of jobs now,” he said.

Meanwhile, planning for other aspects of the project, including moving and renovating the existing building, will continue along with fund raising. The relocation of the building could happen within a year or two, Avery said.

The jobs funded through the grant will include positions at the lobster hatchery, which is expected to begin operation this summer, as well as staffing and the resource center director’s post.

The goal of the center is to provide support for fisheries research and education in the region. Initial plans call for the center to house a small research lab, a classroom and meeting room with access to interactive television, office space and a fisheries museum.

Beyond the seven initial jobs that are planned, the center has the potential to drive other economic development in the town, Avery said. It will work to enhance the regional fishery in whatever direction it takes, he said, and it will provide a base that could attract scientists and policy-makers to the town for extended stays while they conduct their research.

“The goal for the town has been to emphasize its identity as a working fishing town,” he said. “This will put an exclamation point on that.”

The town should hear if funding has been approved by midsummer, he said.