Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Affordable Housing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
WMMH seeks town release of TIF funds to begin fundraising for 50-unit workforce housing
Summary
Western Maine Mountain Housing told the Carrabassett Valley Select Board it is close to Planning Board approval for a 50-unit, two-phase workforce housing project and asked the town to disburse roughly $70,000 in TIF revenues to start fundraising and hire a fundraiser.
Mark Green, executive director of Western Maine Mountain Housing, told the Carrabassett Valley Select Board on May 11 that the organization is nearing Planning Board approval for a 50-unit workforce-housing development split into two phases and asked the board to disburse the TIF revenues collected to date to begin fundraising. Green said WMMH has hired the Portland firm Demont Associates to lead fundraising work and expects Planning Board approvals to be completed by the end of May.
Green described the project as two phases with a first phase consisting of one 12-unit building and associated infrastructure — sewer, water and roads — targeted for construction beginning in spring 2027 and, depending on fundraising, substantial completion by spring 2028 with some units available for the 2027–28 winter season. He told the board that town voters previously approved the West Mountain TIF to support the project but that the TIF balance “is not enough to build the project,” and that the account currently holds approximately $70,000 to cover pre-construction activities and hiring a fundraiser.
Select Board members who had joined a Planning Board site visit — Lloyd Cuttler, Jay Reynolds, Garrett Corbin and Chris Parks — said the visit gave them a clear sense of the location and endorsed keeping the Select Board informed as WMMH moves through the remaining approvals. The Select Board expressed comfort with releasing TIF revenues collected to date, in accordance with the March Town Meeting vote, so WMMH can proceed with fundraising and remaining permitting steps.
No formal transfer of funds is recorded in the meeting minutes as a motion; the board’s note of comfort with disbursing TIF revenues reflects the Select Board’s view that authorizing release of the collected funds aligns with the prior town vote. The project team’s next public steps are completing Planning Board approvals and continuing fundraising outreach with Demont Associates.
