KINGFIELD – Greg Davis is exploring federal stimulus funds and grant options before his tenure as the town’s administrative assistant ends Friday.

Davis plans to return to his journalism background and has accepted a position as editor of the Franklin Journal in Farmington. A journalist for more than 20 years, Davis previously served as managing editor of the Rumford Falls Times, The Franklin Journal and the Livermore Falls Advertiser.

He left the field to manage the town of Wayne prior to becoming Kingfield’s administrative assistant in July 2007.

On Friday, his daily 60-mile round-trip trek to Kingfield will come to an end, he said. The town is advertising for his replacement.

Before he leaves, the Board of Selectmen approved his efforts to submit an initial request for stimulus funding for a town wireless Internet system.

After a meeting held earlier this month with BluePort, a wireless company, the board recently reviewed a proposal to bring the wireless service to a one-square mile village area which would serve about 80 percent of Kingfield residents, he said.

Considered an economic development project due to a potential boost for tourism, the expected cost could run to $185,000 for equipment plus another 10 to 20 percent for annual maintenance and monitoring costs. There is also a cost to secure the necessary broadband service, he said.

The proposal falls in between two other options, one that would cover just the village business district at an estimated $34,000 for necessary equipment installation while total coverage of Kingfield’s 38 square miles climbs to nearly $5.5 million, he said.

Covering a whole community with wi-fi is more than Kingfield is envisioning, he said.

“The proposed option would do what works best for the most people,” Davis added.

Any decision would be brought to the voters through a special town meeting. Most grant programs require some type of matching dollars that could be met with tax increment financing money in light of the economic development aspect.

Davis is putting together information and forming a basic description and estimated cost for an early application. His research has revealed there is money available through the stimulus funds for broadband, nearly $4.7 billion for rural broadband projects through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, he said. The difficult part is the criteria needed to apply is still in the process of being written and it will be a nationwide competitive process.

Davis also submitted a grant application for $134,000 in January to the Department of Environmental Protection for a septic system upgrade for the town. While several high cost projects compete for funds, this smaller project just might stand a better chance, he said.