I mention these things because right now, one of my major tasks at work is to finish the applications for three Community Planning Grants. These grants can be up to $10,000, and are awarded on a competitive basis by the State's Department of Economic and Community Development.

These grants can only be awarded to municipalities, but PCEDC usually partners with them to help with the actual application, and then to help administer the grant. These grants are designed for planning activities only.

The first Community Planning Grant, which is being applied for by the Town of Dover-Foxcroft, will be used to prepare a redevelopment plan for the Moosehead Manufacturing facility located in that town. Obviously, the recent closing of Moosehead Manufacturing had a substantially negative effect on Dover-Foxcroft and the surrounding area. While there's a good chance that the facility will never be used to make wooden furniture again, the site still has tremendous potential, and could be used for a variety of purposes, ones that will allow it to again be a crucial part of the local economy and also the centerpiece of a revitalized downtown. The end result of this grant will be the production of a redevelopment plan report, which will serve as an extremely useful tool for future owners and developers of the site.

The second Community Planning Grant is being applied for by the Town of Brownville, with Greenville and Monson acting as co-sponsors. It will be used to develop a tourism development investment plan for all of Piscataquis County. Piscataquis County's comprehensive economic development strategy (which I talked about in last month's column) endorses tourism development as a critical part of its plan for the future.

The problem is that existing tourism development plans across Piscataquis County are not unified in a distinct and complete tourism development investment plan, which results in a situation where there is a potential for inefficient and poorly-planned public and private investment in tourism development. It is intended that having this unified and widely-endorsed plan will help avoid this, identifying and encouraging the most strategic private and public investments in tourism infrastructure, investments which will help position Piscataquis County as a world-class tourist destination.

This project will be completed by gathering information on: existing investments; additional investment needs from agencies, land owners, and other organizations engaged in tourism product development; and input from agencies or organizations planning the investments. It will also include reviewing State agencies' plans for investments on public lands, establishing policy statements for the endorsement of public funds in tourism development projects, establishing standards for tourism sites, coordinating with the Chambers of Commerce and The Maine Highlands so that our investment plan matches their tourism marketing plan(s), and holding a coordination and planning event to develop the plan.

The third Community Planning Grant that PCEDC is assisting with is being applied for by the Town of Greenville, with Milo and Brownville as co-sponsors. This grant will be used to develop a strategic plan for improving access to high-speed internet service across Piscataquis County. Affordable high-speed internet service is something that is desperately needed in many areas, both to allow businesses to do their business efficiently (even if their product is not information-based), and for general consumer use. This grant will allow us to identify specific broadband needs, and then to determine the best way to improve access.

An important part of the grant application is a mandatory public hearing, where people can come and comment on it. If you are interested in any of these grants, I suggest that you attend these hearings. The public hearing for the Dover-Foxcroft/Moosehead Manufacturing grant will be held at 6:30 PM, on Monday, July 23rd, at the regular meeting of the Dover-Foxcroft Selectmen, in the Thompson Free Library Community Room. The public hearing for the Brownville/Tourism grant will be held at 6:30 PM, on Wednesday, July 25th, at the Brownville Town Office. Finally, the public hearing for the Greenville/Internet grant will be held at 6:00 PM, on Thursday, July 26th, at the Municipal Building Meeting Hall (7 Minden Street). In addition, you can also contact PCEDC with any questions or issues about these grants.