Minutes of the Monmouth Economic Development Committee

Minutes of the Monmouth Economic Development Committee

Tues, May 26, 2015 at 6 pm

Apple Valley Bakery

Members: Kelly Beaudoin, Rick Grant, Stephen Bero, Chuck Mailhot, Tim McDonald, Paul Ruopp and Nancy Smith. Absent: Lisa Hicks, Michael Rogers, Scott Sanborn and one unfilled seat.Guests: Curt Lunt, Bruce Balfour, Gayle Chase from KVCOG

Chairman Tim called the meeting to order at 6:05 pm. He thanked Kelly and TJ for allowing us to meet at their local business.

Minutes tabled until next meeting. (we did not have a quorum at the time.)

Marketing: Curt will submit the latest article written by Kelly called “Lakes, Art and Economic Development” to the Winthrop Advertiser. EDC Tri-folds with holders will be disseminated by members throughout the town. This tri-fold is called “Making Monmouth Thrive.”

Micro Loan Committee: Curt will call a meeting for this group to meet soon.

Project Canopy: Nancy said Two Trees Forestry will start the Project Canopy inventory with the Monmouth Academy students in a week or so, preferably before school ends.

Grant & Project Subcommittee: tabled

Lake Access & Municipal Parking Project Update: tabled

Economic Indicator Report: Paul shared the report results of the economic indicator report. He was able to produce the report using a program from GrowSmart Maine.

Review Downtown Revitalization Plan: Tim asked the EDC members to do a preliminary review for updates to this report at the next meeting. Kelly said if we update the date to 2015 it will help with grant submissions. KVCOG submitted a proposal on the cost to help us update the Revitalization Plan.

Grant Subcommittee: Gayle from KVCOG spoke about seeking grants on blighted main streets. One grant is available per year from CBDG. In order to be eligible to apply, you need to have a median income of 80% of the county. HUD figures this out. 51% LMI (lower moderate income). Monmouth is 35%. Another path is to address blighted conditions. Must prove the blight by having 25% of the buildings in our downtown (whatever you distinguish your downtown) must be blighted. Must document and describe why it is in ill repair. Residential buildings are not part of the grant. Must have a Downtown Revitalization that is current within the last 5 years.

Chuck made a motion to adjourn. Stephen seconded it. Meeting: 7:11 pm

Respectfully Submitted,

Kelly Beaudoin, Secretary