Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
Why plan for growth and change, when it seems so much easier to simply react? When there is a distinct and shared vision for your community - when residents, businesses and local government anticipate a sustainable town with cohesive and thriving neighborhoods - you have the power to conserve your beautiful natural spaces, enhance your existing downtown or Main Street, enable rural areas to be productive and prosperous, and save money through efficient use of existing infrastructure. This is the dollars and sense of smart growth. Success is clearly visible in Maine, from the creation of a community-built senior housing complex and health center in Fort Fairfield to conservation easements creating Forever Farms to Rockland's revitalized downtown. Communities have options. We have the power to manage our own responses to growth and change. After all, “Planning is a process of choosing among those many options. If we do not choose to plan, then we choose to have others plan for us.” - Richard I. Winwood And in the end, this means that our children and their children will choose to make Maine home and our economy will provide the opportunities to do so. The Summit offers you a wonderful opportunity to be a part of the transformative change in Maine that we’ve seen these gatherings produce. We encourage you to consider the value of being actively involved in growing Maine’s economy and protecting the reasons we choose to live here.
Citation preview
GrowSmart Maine
Summit 2014
Leveraging Private Sector
Investments and Public
Funds to
Support Smart Growth
Judy East
Washington County
Council of Governments
Brownfields Assessment – Washington County
Regional program starting its 7th year
$400,000 USEPA Brownfields Assessment grant ($200K
- Petroleum; $200K - Hazardous Materials)
1st $400,000 spent in 3 years (2009-2012)
2nd $400,000 spent in 2 years (2012-2014)
Initiating 3rd $400,000 Oct 2014 (2015 – 2017)
57 sites in current inventory
• 7 sites – redevelopment complete
• 3 sites – under active
redevelopment/expansion
• 1 site – clean up ongoing
• 4 sites – Phase II pending
Location location location
• Historic village/city centers
• Waterfronts
• Crossroads
• Near existing infrastructure
Leverage for Conservation and Working
Waterfront
Working Waterfront Access Protection Program (WWAPP) Administered by CEI in partnership with Department of Marine Resources & Land for Maine’s Future
Beals Boat Landing
$BF$ used for Site Assessment required for easement purchase
Easement proceeds allowed town to purchase adjoining lot for needed parking expansion
Conservation purchase with Downeast Coastal Conservancy
Middle River conservation project in Machias
$BF$ used for Site Assessment required for Land for Maine’s Future easement purchase
in-town community/recreation site
Leverage for Private Sector Re-development
Lighthouse Bait and Lobster - Eastport
Former Sardine Cannery
$31,580 Brownfields funding (Phase I/II, permitting)
$1.3 million private (owners, banks)
Increasingly Banks will not loan without site assessment
Redevelopment: Lighthouse Bait and Lobster
Leverage for Private Sector Re-development
Antone’s Triangle - Pembroke
Former Gas Station – Convenience Store
Held by an estate; sitting inactive on the market
~$30K Brownfields funds – Assessment and tank removal
Property sold, recently re-sided and renovated
Leveraging other Public Sources
Economic Development Administration Grant
• ~$25K Brownfields funding for Phase I/Phase II, redevelopment and clean-up
plan
• ~$1 Million EDA grant to convert former Guilford mill into modern boat
building facility
• 25 news jobs; projected to grow to 50
Nothing Succeeds Like Success
All public grants highly competitive – getting more all the time – Brownfields is no exception
2015 Brownfields Assessment grants only awarded to those who scored 190/200 potential points
A few grants were awarded to those just shy of 190 points WCCOG was one of them – the edge?
Successful track record of projects that leveraged private sector investment
Spending the money in 2 years instead of 3
Telling the story – press, videos, workshops, web sites
Continuing education credit-based outreach:
AICP accreditation at 3 state conferences
Realtors Property Redevelopment Forum
Code Enforcement Officer/Assessors
Questions?
Judy East, Washington County
Council of Governments
www.wccog.net
http://gro-wa.org/washington-
county-brownfields-program.htm
http://www.wccogbrownfields.com/
