LIMESTONE, Maine — Over half a year later, officials at the Loring Commerce Center have yet to receive funding approved by the state Legislature in late July of 2017.
The bill, LD 1643, “An Act to Provide Funding to the Loring Development Authority of Maine for Implementation Grants,” was unanimously approved by Maine Senators to provide the former Limestone Air Force Base with a total of $1.5 million — $750,000 for the fiscal year in which it was approved and an additional $750,000 for the following fiscal year.
LDA President and CEO Carl Flora said during a Feb. 21 Board of Trustees meeting that he believes there are going to be “some developments with respect to that money,” but that he was unable to comment further on the reasons why the funds had yet to allotted.
Flora said this is one of two issues that have “caused us some stress on the budget,” with the second issue being that the Maine Military Authority owes the LDA approximately $800,000 in back rent due to complications that arose with a transit bus renovation project on the former base.
“If we could collect those two items together it would put us back into pretty good shape,” Flora said, adding that he is unsure “how that’s all going to play out.”
The state funding bill was not earmarked for one specific project, and instead was intended to help Loring Development Authority officials put aviation assets back into service in addition to renovating buildings and equipment with the purpose of attracting new businesses to the former base.
One of Loring’s most notable prospects at the time of the bill’s passing was an aviation repair firm that Flora said wanted to set up shop on the base. Flora said at the time that he could not identify the firm as it was still going through regulatory process. As of Feb. 22, LDA officials still were not naming the aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul company that reportedly expressed interest in doing business in Limestone.
Flora said during the Feb. 21 meeting that he is “still in discussions” with the undisclosed company, and that a representative from the aviation firm recently told him that company officials will“get something underway as soon as [they] can.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Flora added, “but that’s what they’re saying.”
While he said he could not name the aviation company, he did say it is working with a “former affiliate of Telford Aviation,” that is interested in an aircraft disassembly and parts distribution project.
“The thought process here is that this is a relatively easy to establish repair and overhaul business,” he said. “If we take it in small increments, we can show the FAA that we can handle aircraft disassembly and parts distribution, and as you become more proficient in more areas, you can become a full-fledged aircraft MRO [maintenance, repair, and overhaul]. That’s the strategy.”
Before any of this can happen, Loring needs to hire employees with an airframe and/or powerplant certification, and Flora told board members on Wednesday that there is currently “a nationwide shortage of aircraft mechanics,” and that the state does not offer relevant training at the moment.
