Staff Writer
CARIBOU — The Northern Maine Development Commission (NMDC) rarely receives history lessons during their monthly Executive Board of Directors meeting, but an exception was made on Jan. 7 when president of the Maine Delegation for the 2014 World Acadian Congress Jason Parent and director of the Maine 2014 World Acadian Congress International Organization Committee Lise Pelletier informed board members of future events to unfold in Aroostook County based on specific events that transpired in the past. Parent provided board members with an update on how event organization has progressed and will continue progressing. Pelletier, director of Acadian Archives at the University of Maine at Fort Kent, provided board members with the history behind the event, including a presentation on who Acadians were and the atrocities committed against them. Information regarding the 2014 World Acadian Congress can be obtained by contacting the Maine Delegation of the 2014 World Acadian Congress Organizational Committee at 728-6826.
The board also authorized NMDC to be the fiscal agent/grant sub-recipient for the local Area 1 Workforce investment Act Program.
According to NMDC Executive Director Bob Clark, the Local Area 1 Workforce Investment Act Program was created in the late 1990s and it aims to meet both the needs of businesses and job seekers by providing training and employment programs that are designed and managed at the local level.
Clark and County Administrator Doug Beaulieu have been discussing the possible transfer for the last month. The consensus at the meeting was that NMDC was better equipped than the county to maximize the benefits received by the county through the program.
The board accepted the NMDC/ Loan review committee report as presented by Duane Walton, director of business finance at NMDC, and accepted the ratification of a service contract with the state, which will allow the continuation of a popular public composting class and the creation of an interactive recycling map.
The board also voted to approve the authorization to apply for an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) training and technical assistance grant for water and wastewater departments in the amount of $99,000 and to rescind a previously passed motion to authorize the creation of the Northern Maine Council of Government.
“I felt that if we created another organization, more administrative resources were going to have to be [allocated for that group,] and it’s confusing enough for towns and people now that we have APP (Aroostook Partnership for Progress), NMFC (Northern Maine Finance Corporation), and NMDC,” Clark explained, “and I felt at the same time that one more organization really wasn’t going to benefit us.”
Walt Elish also informed the board about current developments on the Mobilize Maine initiative; two meetings of industry cluster working groups are scheduled for this week to further develop the initiative.
