The Northern Border Regional Commission has awarded $1.24 million to two projects in Aroostook County.
With a grant of $1 million, the Loring Development Authority in Limestone will construct a wastewater treatment facility for a coming potato chip plant, while the city of Presque Isle will use its $240,000 to renovate The Forum’s commercial kitchen.
The funds come from the commission’s Catalyst Program, which aims to boost economic growth across Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York. In all, the commission awarded $20.6 million to 35 projects, 10 of them in Maine. The County projects will enable growth as both Loring and Presque Isle try to draw more business to the region.
“We express our sincere gratitude to the Northern Border Regional Commission Catalyst Program for its investment in our Loring campus,” authority president and CEO Jonathan Judkins said in a press statement. “We remain committed to collaborating with our partners, including the Taste of Maine team, the [town] of Limestone, the Northern Maine Development Commission and numerous community members who support our commercial enterprises and future developers.”
The development authority plans to build an anaerobic digester to treat wastewater before it enters the Limestone Water & Sewer District’s treatment system. The total project will cost $1.6 million, according to the commission.
Anaerobic digesters use bacteria to break down organic matter, including wastewater and food waste, and convert it into products such as soil additives, fertilizer and gas products, according to the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection.
Bruce Sargent and Jim Pelkey of Falcon Transportation in Presque Isle announced plans to create the Taste of Maine Potato Chip Co. on the Loring Commerce Center a year ago. The $55 million, 80,000-square-foot plant will use local potatoes and create local jobs.
The men announced last summer that construction was delayed because of the need for an anaerobic digester. Without it, wastewater from the plant would overwhelm Limestone’s treatment plant, utility officials said at that time.
The plant will be built at the site of the former Damon Elementary School on the former air force base.
The 44,500-square-foot Forum opened in 1975 and hosts trade shows, concerts, ice skating, hockey and other events.
The Presque Isle City Council voted in October to allow Kim Smith, the city’s grant writer and public information officer, to apply for a Northern Border Regional Commission grant to create a new kitchen there.
A commercial kitchen would increase the building’s use and bring in city revenue, Smith said at the time. It would also allow the building to be used as an emergency shelter.
City leaders had previously turned down requests to host events, which could have brought in about $250,000, because The Forum didn’t have a kitchen suitable for catering, she said.
U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King praised the commission’s grant announcement, saying the money will support economic development efforts in five Maine counties.
“From replacing aging infrastructure to expanding child care availability and resources for business development, these targeted investments will strengthen the local economies of numerous communities in Maine,” the senators said in a joint statement. “We are proud to support the NBRC, which continues to play a vital role in creating jobs, expanding economic opportunities, and laying a strong foundation for long-term growth across our state.”
The other Maine projects include $1 million each to replace water mains in Dover-Foxcroft and Danforth, $1 million to build a child care center in Greenville and $998,925 for the Maine TREE Foundation in Kennebec County to create a high school forestry immersion program.
