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Caribou to use DECD housing opportunity grant to fund city housing inventory and action plan
Summary
The council authorized City Manager Penny Thompson to execute a contract with the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development for a housing inventory and action plan funded by a Housing Opportunity Program grant; the city will competitively bid the consultant work and used staff time as the grant match.
The Caribou City Council on Feb. 24 authorized City Manager Penny Thompson to execute a service contract with the State of Maine Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) to carry out a housing inventory and develop a housing action plan.
The action follows a February housing symposium convened by the Caribou Development Committee that staff said highlighted shortages of workforce and middle‑income housing. "1 key takeaway from the meetings was that Caribou needed to have a housing inventory within the city Of Caribou and develop a detailed housing action plan," Thompson said during the council meeting.
Why it matters: city staff and developers told the council that a formal inventory and action plan would provide a basis for policy changes and targeted projects to address housing supply for workers and other residents.
Grant and contracting details: staff said the city applied for the DECD Housing Opportunity Program grant in late February (application date noted as Feb. 20), received an attached contract that was reviewed by city attorney Rick Salomon and staff, and proposed to use staff time as the local match. The council was told the city will go out to bid for a consultant to perform the housing study and must accept the State service contract before work can begin.
Council action: A motion to authorize Manager Penny Thompson to execute the service contract with the State of Maine Department of Economic and Community Development passed unanimously. Staff will issue a public request for proposals for the housing study and return to the council with consultant selection and contract details.
