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Greenwood's Attempt to Dip into CBDG funds to Battle Milfoil Comes Up Dry

April 25, 2011 - Greenwood- The Maine Department of Economic and Community Development will not be underwriting the development of remote-controlled, milfoil-hunting underwater robots for the town of Greenwood.

In February town selectmen agreed to have the town apply for a $47,000 Community Development Block Grant, which would go toward a $137,000 effort to combat milfoil in local lakes. The balance of funding would have come from existing milfoil-eradication grants from the Community Lakes Association ($36,000) Bryant Pond 4-H School and National 4-H Council ($50,200) and a $3,800 Sea Perch grant.

According to the grant’s project description, the town’s funds would have gone toward providing scholarships for low-and-moderate income [LMI] students to attend the camp, where they would study technology used in the development and operation of such robots.

However, in a letter rejecting the grant proposal, Michael D. Baran, director of the Office of Community Development wrote; “Our review showed that the Town of Greenwood has not met the requirements established by Title 1 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1973, as amended, and the State of Maine CBDG program. Specifically, the proposed activity centering on milfoil eradication does not meet a National Objective of the CDBG program. Even though aspects of the proposal such as training of low income residents relates to a National Objective, the end result, which is milfoil eradication, does not meet a National Objective of benefiting predominantly LMI persons.”

Susan Jenning, Oxford County extension educator and an administrator at the camp, said that despite the failure of the grant application, the effort to deploy robotics in the milfoil eradication effort here.

“I am sure CDBG got many more requests than the funding could handle,” she said.

Bryant Pond is very happy with the efforts the town of Greenwood was willing to take on in the application, and we will certainly continue to look for funding.

“Bryant Pond is continuing to work with the Community Lake Association and has received funding to support a new submersible robotics milfoil initative.”


Michael Daniels, The Bethel Citizen, April 2011


Lakes: Bryant Pond
Regions: Sebago


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