The grant was received from the Community Development Block Grant Community Enterprise program administered by the Maine Office of Community Development of the Department of Economic and Community Development. The grant was submitted for Milo by the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council.

According to Dr. Kenneth B. Woodbury, Jr., Community Development Specialist for the PCEDC, the grant will add new street and pedestrian lighting, decorative improvements, benches, trees and shrubs and other landscaping enhancements.

Grants will also be made available to five downtown commercial buildings to improve their facades with paint, siding, awnings, planters, signage and a variety of detail improvements to provide a more unified downtown appearance in line with the new design scheme for downtown Milo developed by CES, Inc. of Brewer. Meetings will be arranged with the building owners to describe the grant details and the advantages of participating in this voluntary program.

The $150,000 grant is part of a total effort to rebuild and revitalize the downtown area of Milo. A $350,000 “Safe Streets” project will markedly improve the streetscape from the Sebec to the Milo Free Library and Milo Town Hall. Another combined grant of $222,300 will add two new parks, Gateway Park on the island in the Sebec between the two bridges and a second, Riverfront Park, to extend the existing Veteran's park all the way to Main Street between the Sebec River and Water Street.

Bid specifications for these projects are being prepared now with construction expected by this summer.