PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Kim Smith, of Presque Isle, was recently appointed by City Council as a grant writer for the municipality.
“Council made it a top priority” during their goal-setting session earlier this year, said City Manager Jim Bennett. “We advertised for the position, which will be funded out of surplus. If it does what we believe the position will do, it will more than pay for itself.”
Bennett said this was a “straight-up position to work on a number of things, researching grants.”
Just over $46,000 will be taken from surplus to pay for the position through the end of the year.
“We’ll deal with the second part of the year when we put the 2015 budget together,” he said.
Councilor Pete Hallowell said talk initially involved “doing this on a commission basis.” Bennett said the city would be ineligible for some grants by handling the position on a commission basis.
Council Chair Emily Smith said while grants are great, sometimes they’re out of reach.
“If they’re a 90-10 split (grant covers 90 percent, with 10 percent matching required to qualify), and you can’t come up with the 10 percent,” then you lose the grant, said Smith.
Bennett noted the city’s qualified for such grants, namely with the police department.
“We consistently are eligible for a (grant for a) police officer; we get paid for three years but have to pick up the cost for the fourth year,” said Bennett.
Councilors voted unanimously in favor of hiring Smith as the city’s grant writer.
June marks Smith’s first full month in the position.
In other business, councilors:
• Approved consent agenda items;
• Adopted an amended Chapter 16A — Shoreland Zoning; and amended Chapter 16 — Land Use and Development Code;
• Approved closure of Main Street on June 21 from UMPI to Park Street and Park Street for the Shriners’ Parade;
• Authorized the issuance of up to $2 million principal amount of tax anticipation notes for the city, in anticipation of the receipt of taxes for the municipal fiscal year which commences Jan. 1 and ends Dec. 31, 2014;
• Directed the city manager to reallocate $3,890 from the general aviation equipment reserve account to the aircraft tug account; and directed the city manager to purchase an aircraft tug from Aero Specialties Inc. for the sum of $33,890, with funds coming from the aircraft tug reserve account;
• Agreed to use the third Monday of the month as a workshop night or for other meetings, as needed:
• Authorized the creation of a policy and an application to close portions of Riverside Drive from State Street to Chapman Road. Bennett said this would give city officials “the authority to close a section of Riverside Drive for certain events, such as the Elks’ 4th of July celebration. By passing this recommended policy, Bennett said it would speed up the process for future events;
• Approved MDOT overlimit permit for Routes 10 and 163, to allow for the movement of oversized construction equipment necessary for such jobs as road maintenance;
• Appointed Dwayne Singletary to the Downtown Revitalization Committee as an alternate member, term to expire Dec. 31, 2017;
• Noted that on June 14 at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, Maine’s annual moose lottery event will take place. Smith said she’d be there on behalf of the city and will be reading the first 50 names. “It’s been here before and is good for the local economy,” said Smith;
• Approved a contract with Lane Construction for asphalt paving per their bid prices;
• Approved a contract with Aroostook Asphalt Applicators for liquid asphalt for chip sealing for $3.85 per gallon;
• At the recommendation of Ken Arndt, the city’s planning and development director, councilors approved continuing the city’s Northern Maine Development Commission membership for 2015-16 for $18,400;
• Approved extension of the homeless shelter lease as presented (this applies to the transitional housing and not Homeless Services of Aroostook);
• Rescinded its Dec. 2, 2013 vote that the commitment of taxes be set by the Council at the first City Council meeting in July, with Council then setting the rate of tax for 2014 on Sept. 3 or as soon as possible under the circumstances (personnel changes in the city’s tax assessing office created a minor setback, with new staff being hired and needing time to be trained); and
• Began discussion on how to recover over $200,000 that was defaulted on by Northern Maine Finance. Councilors will discuss the matter more at a later date.
The next regularly scheduled City Council meeting is set for Monday, July 7, at 6 p.m. at City Hall. The meetings are open to the public and participation is encouraged. For more information, call 760-2785.
