JAY – With the town intending to apply for Community Development Block Grant funds next year, businesses interested in benefiting from the program should contact the town office.
Jay anticipates filing an application in 2019 with Maine’s CDBG Micro-Enterprise Assistance Grant Program. Up to $150,000 could be available for town businesses through the program, either in the form of grants to create employment opportunities for businesses or for facade improvements. The grant process is competitive, with approximately $700,000 of funds being doled out to $2 million-worth of requests.
Jaaron Shaw, the owner of Maine Dojo, previously approached the town about applying through the CDBG program.
Currently, town officials anticipate having the Board of Selectpersons review a Letter of Intent for qualifying projects in January. The application is due on Feb. 8.
Funds can be used in two ways. The first is to assist small businesses with five or fewer employees, one of whom owns the enterprise. The owner’s income must be low-to-moderate. Alternatively, the business owner must create one full-time equivalent job (based on a $30,000 grant) or two full-time equivalent jobs (based on a $50,000 grant), which must be taken by low-to-moderate income individuals and maintained for a minimum of one year. Businesses applying for these funds must have a business plan not older than 18 months and must have met with a Small Business Development Center business counselor in the 3 months prior to applying for assistance.
The second way businesses can access the program is for facade grants. To qualify for facade funds, the business must submit documentation showing that it qualifies as a spot slum/blight area. Estimated cost for funds under this program must be provided by an engineer or architect.
Anyone interested in obtaining more information on this program can contact Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere at 340 Main Street by phone at 897-6785 or by email at jmanager@jay-maine.org.
Additional information on the CDBG program can be found at: https://www.maine.gov/decd/meocd/cdbg/index.shtml.
