FARMINGTON — A public hearing will be held Tuesday to discuss paying the town’s portion of building a new sewer line from Route 2 to Mt. Blue High School. The hearing will be held during a Board of Selectmen meeting set to begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Municipal Building.
As part of the high school renovation project, a new
sewer line will connect the school to the town’s system. The state said it would pay for 75 percent of the $1.3 million project, leaving
the town to provide the remaining 25 percent, which amounts to $328,250, Town Manager Richard Davis said.
The board will discuss applying for $328,250 in the form of a loan
and grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural
Development program, he said. He did not have information on how much of the total would be granted and how much would be loaned.
A second public hearing will be held on amending the management plan for the town’s revolving loan fund. The fund was started years ago with Community Development Block Grant money, Davis said. The fund is used to help stimulate job growth, to expand business ownership opportunities for Farmington residents, to encourage investments in renovation and conservation of small business space and to promote the use of vacant and under-used buildings.
Governed by a review board of five residents, applicants can receive loans of up to $25,000 at a fixed interest rate of 5 percent for a maximum of 10 years. Applicants must own property in Farmington or be residents or owners of businesses or organizations located in the town.
The proposed amendment would allow the loan to be secured by real estate in Maine, as opposed to only in Farmington. The current management plan states, “loans secured by out-of-town real estate are ineligible.” The board, through the process of a public hearing, will consider changing the wording to “loans secured by out-of-state real estate are ineligible.”
Prohibiting the use of property outside Farmington as collateral is inconsistent with the current allowance of the applicant to live outside town, he said. There have been some cases in which business owners not living in Farmington have wanted to use out-of-town properties for collateral, he said.
abryant@sunjournal.com
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