RUMFORD – With Rosie Bradley leaving as director of the River Valley Growth Council and Technology Center at week’s end, the council board decided at its last meeting to hire Diane Ray as a consultant to try to bring in grant money and jobs.

Ray had served on the council as a representative from Canton, but because of the consulting job, had to resign. She will receive $3,000 a month through June for her services.

Ray is no stranger to finding grants and economic development. She is head of the Special Projects Committee in Canton that has received millions of dollars in state and federal money for relocating the village center and demolishing dozens of homes located in the flood plain.

She is also owner of a consulting agency for more than a dozen years known as Partnerships for Innovation and employs one other person. Both she and her employee are certified for seeking community development block grants, a task, she said, that no one else has on the growth council.

“No one is giving up on economic development,” she said of the growth council and technology center.

Her duties include trying to bring business to the technology center to meet the CDBG requirement calling for the creation of 40 jobs. So far, about a dozen have been created.

She has talked with former Rumford Town Manager Stephen Eldridge about projects he was working on when he left his position in January, and will be brought up to speed by Bradley on potential economic projects that she has been working on.

Although Ray will look for operating funds for the tech center and growth council, she said it is critical that the towns that have supported the growth council’s efforts over the years continue their financial support.

“No one is walking away from the creation of 40 jobs. It’s a long-term haul,” she said, adding that the incubator model in place at the tech center may have to be changed.

Besides hiring Ray as economic development consultant, other board members took on duties that Bradley had done as part of her job. Those adept at financial matters, such as council President Rich Allen and council treasurer Bill Hine, will oversee the financial piece of the operation. Others, such as board member Dick Lovejoy, will oversee building maintenance and the Peru mill project.

Others will be in charge of other projects.

Administrative Assistant Beverly Crosby will continue in her position as will a half-time bookkeeper.

At the end of June, which is the end of the fiscal year, the board will decide its future steps.