WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME) and Susan Collins (R-ME) today announced the procurement of $2,556,500 in Rural Development loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for development projects throughout Maine.
“These USDA Rural Development loans provide vital opportunities for rural Mainers to enhance community services and boost economic growth,” Senators Snowe and Collins said in a joint statement. “The facility and equipment acquisitions made possible by this funding will support economic efforts in Aroostook County, improve the quality of life for handicapped children and their families in Lincoln County, and allow the Town of Rangeley to comply with requirements set forth by the Clean Water Act."
The loans were approved for the following projects:
• $2,143,000 guaranteed loan to Aroostook County . The co-borrowing businesses, which manufacture specialty wood products, will use the funds to purchase and install new machinery and equipment as well as to refinance existing debt. Beaver Brook Mill, Inc., one of four co-borrowers, is located in Nashville Plantation, Maine.
• $278,500 direct loan to Lincoln County Children’s Services to purchase and repair a new facility that will be serve as a 36-child preschool for handicapped children.
• $135,000 direct loan to the Town of Rangeley to help bring its pump station into compliance with Clean Water Act requirements.
The USDA Rural Development program provides financial loans and grants to help improve the economy and quality of life in all of rural American. The funds are used for community programs, which seek to construct or improve community facilities for health care, public safety, and public services.