Raymond will apply for a grant later this summer to help the town prepare for climate change. The Raymond Select Board held a workshop on Tuesday where residents and Select Board members discussed priorities of how the grant, if approved, could be best put to use.
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The Town of Raymond intends to apply for a grant through the Community Resilience Partnership that supports projects to reduce energy use and make communities more resilient to climate change. FILE PHOTO |
The town of Raymond has contracted with Siler Climate Consulting, together with North Star Planning, for assistance in enrolling in the Community Resilience Partnership, a program under the Maine Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future, and applying for a Community Action Grant that would range between $50,000 and $75,000. The grants are funded through a mix of federal and state sources.
The Community Resilience Partnership “helps towns plan for and fund projects that improve energy efficiency and local resilience,” according to Ben Smith, the founder of North Star Planning. The program, he said, “provides technical assistance and grant funding for community priorities and those could be town facilities, emergency preparedness, open space and trails, broadband access and a number of different kinds of projects related to resiliency, economy, public health and infrastructure.”
In the most recent grant awards that took place during the spring, some of the projects which received funding included modernizing municipal facilities through energy efficiency upgrades in Acton, conducting a municipal energy assessment in Alfred and a resilient outreach and education plan in Bath.
According to Perkins, so far 263 Maine municipalities have enrolled in the program, which encompasses about two-thirds of the state’s population; and a large percent of those communities have received funding.
There’s no guarantee Raymond will receive a grant, Smith said. However, he said, “priority is given to communities who haven’t received grant funding yet.”
The town learned about the grant opportunity, according to Town Manager Joseph Crocker, when “two members of the Comprehensive Plan Committee brought this to our attention in partnership with North Star Planning.”
In addition to Tuesday’s workshop and completing self-assessment forms, to enroll in the program, Crocker said, “the Select Board will need to pass a municipal resolution (written by the state) agreeing to join the partnership. … Raymond should complete enrollment by July to apply for a grant in August/September.”
During Tuesday’s workshop, several residents as well as Select Board members, named some of the priorities they thought the grant could go toward.
Select Board member Kaela Gonzalez said some of the priorities for the town that she would like to see the town address include weatherization and solar energy for town buildings, more community gardens, to incentivize energy efficiencies for new building and placing more EV chargers around town.
Shelter and disaster preparedness were mentioned by Age Friendly Raymond Coordinator Debby Tarr.
Increasing conservation and open space were noted by Loon Echo Land Trust Executive Director Matt Markot, as well as ensuring that use ordinances were aligned with community goals of where development should take place.
School Board member Grace Leavitt emphasized that communication and education were also important.
The benefits of enrolling in the Community Resilience Partnership, Smith said, are twofold. “The biggest payoff will be a successful grant award,” he said. “The other reason I think is that it starts some community conversations about resilience broadly (and) … how does Raymond balance community needs around facilities and infrastructure with open space and rural character and making improvements around housing and transportation.” <
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