By Natalie de La Garza
Staff Writer
CARIBOU — City officials secured a $25,000 community development block grant to help Circle B Farms with the construction of a new packing facility last year, and they’re hoping to help other business owners with similar undertakings in 2015.
“It’s a great service that we can offer to the businesses in Caribou,” said City Manager Austin Bleess.
Bleess explained that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development distributes funds to the states, and the city works with the state as well as individual business owners to procure grants.
“We want businesses to grow, succeed and flourish, and sometimes they need a little bit of extra help to do that,” Bleess added. Grant funds are offered to fill a monetary gap in financing; if a business is buying a large piece of equipment, for example, and can put down 10 of the cost and a bank can finance 60 percent of the cost, a CDBG grant could be used to provide the remaining 30 percent of the project.
Business owners and city officials work together to obtain the grant, and Bleess explained that bringing CDBG funding has immediate and long-term benefits for the city as well as the business owner — including contractors and local vendors that would be hired to complete building improvements for some of the projects.
“Applying for these grants and working through the process with business owners is beneficial to the employer, of course, but also to the city because they’re adding new jobs and becoming more profitable,” the city manager outlined. “That’s good for the city, because we can reap the rewards in the long run through a larger property tax base.”
Bleess hopes to work with business owners who are interested in purchasing equipment, improving their building or workforce training.
There are conditions for the grants, like the need for job creation, and Bleess is hoping local business owners will contact him to discuss possible projects.
“We’re looking at applying for grants to do facade improvements in the downtown areas of Caribou, and we’re also open to — and looking for — businesses that might have a need that could be met with CDBG funds,” Bleess said.
Bleess can be reached at the city office by calling 493-3324 or emailing citymanager@
cariboumaine.org.
