Penobscot County approves two TIF-linked grants; committee recommends limited support for Patton library

The Penobscot County Commission on Feb. 4 approved, by unanimous vote, two grant recommendations from the Unorganized Territory (UT) Tax Increment Financing (TIF) committee: a conditional $25,000 award for the Friends of the Veterans Memorial Library in Patton and a $50,000 award to Millinocket Regional Hospital for a new CT scanner.

Dee Williams, department director for mainstream finance, presented the TIF committee findings. On the library request—an ask of $51,500 toward a $5,100,000 project—Williams said the committee "was unable to support the full request" because it found "not enough supportive data" showing how many UT residents would benefit. The committee recommended a conditional approval of $25,000, to be released only after the library secures the remaining funds.

Jesse Moriarty, representing the Friends of the Veterans Memorial Library and joining by Zoom, said the fundraising picture has improved since the application: "since we put that application in December, we've raised an additional 65,000." Moriarty also said the library has already secured about $3,900,000 in federal grants and a $150,000 ARPA contribution, and that the library is municipally owned by the town of Patton and is working on a memorandum of understanding with the town.

Commissioners discussed the library's regional uses—a warming/cooling center, high-speed computer access and a commercial kitchen—and noted the TIF committee’s mission to prioritize projects that benefit residents of the unorganized territories. After discussion the commission voted to accept the TIF committee recommendation of $25,000; the chair called the vote unanimous.

On the hospital request, Williams told commissioners that Millinocket Regional Hospital asked for $50,000 toward a $550,000 CT scanner purchase. Williams said the current scanner "is over 15 years old and has become unreliable," causing patient transfers to other facilities. The committee unanimously recommended approving $50,000, noting the new scanner should reduce downtime, improve diagnosis in the emergency department, and generate revenue to help cover the remaining cost. Williams described the project financing plan as $100,000 already secured plus the requested $50,000, leaving approximately $400,000 to be covered through a five‑year lease.

Commissioners voiced support for the hospital funding and approved the $50,000 recommendation unanimously.

The commission and staff also discussed procedural and governance matters for the TIF committee: current TIF account balance (reported as approximately $2,600,000), recent annual TIF receipts (about $693,000 last year), the committee’s membership rules (three voting members drawn from volunteers, not county employees), and one vacancy after Michael Crowley stepped down. Committee volunteers named in the meeting included Greg Fuller of Machias and Brent Folster (retired, from Camden). Williams and UT staff said they will schedule a meeting at which the committee will review bylaws, the state approval background, and discuss recruitment for the open seat.

Commissioners and staff also touched on related UT projects that could be funded by TIF: broadband work completed in January for eight townships (about $300,000 spent) and a previously funded broadband project in Argyle. The commission signaled interest in holding a dedicated session to review TIF deployment strategy and history.

The motions approving the two grant recommendations were made and seconded on the record; both passed unanimously.

The commission did not commit additional funding beyond the committee recommendations at the meeting and included conditions (library funds to be held until other funds are secured) as part of the approved action.

Ending: The commission thanked TIF committee members and staff for their work and moved to the next agenda items.