Area leaders plan to use grant to study the impact of
outdoor recreation as an economic engine
Waterville, February 27, 2024 – On Monday U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development State Director Rhiannon Hampson announced a $45K Rural Business Development Grant for the City of Waterville. The city secured the competitive funding to conduct a study of its local recreational assets. These include municipal parks, recreation centers, trails, and other resources. The announcement took place at the City Hall Annex and was followed by a roundtable discussion between USDA Director Hampson, Waterville City Manager Bryan Kaenrath, Assistant City Manager Bill Post, City Council Chair Rebecca Greene, Director of Parks and Recreation Matt Skehan, and other partners and stakeholders in the project.
USDA Rural Development often turns to municipalities and nonprofits to implement projects in Maine. “The people who live and work in a community understand what the local needs truly are,” said Director Hampson. “When we can provide a federal grant and allow the community itself to steer that investment, it is a win for all involved. At Rural Development we know that projects like this have a multiplier effect, leveraging federal grant dollars benefits many sectors. This is a particularly collaborative project designed to ensure Waterville is a great place to live and a great place to visit.”
Participants in Monday’s roundtable discussion with USDA reflected the collaborative nature of Waterville’s RBDG project. Among the attendees were Kim Lindlof, Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, Gabe Gauvin of the Central Maine Growth Council, Ames Cyrway of the Framemakers, and Jennifer Kierstead with Quarry Road Recreation Area. These organizations and businesses join the city in wanting to understand the economic impact of recreational hikers, canoeists and kayakers, skiers, mountain bikers, soccer players, golfers, tennis players, fishermen, and swimmers who reside in Waterville and visitors from out of town.
Multiple downtown businesses contributed letters of support for Waterville’s grant proposal, including Gorham Bike and Ski, Bixby Chocolate Café, the Lockwood Hotel, the Silver Street Tavern, and Sunrise Bagel. Supporting businesses endorsed the city’s plans to gather critical data about the recreation sector in the community and to make the data publicly available. They confirmed that the analysis would assist their planning and marketing efforts and help them to grow revenue streams from the recreation sector. This clear support from local businesses was an important component of the city’s successful grant proposal.
The city plans to begin the project this spring, contributing $6250 to the project and administering the grant. Camoin Associates, an economic development consulting firm, will work with the City of Waterville to identify up to ten existing recreational assets for collective economic impact assessment over the course of a year. At the conclusion of the research and analysis, Camoin Associates will prepare a comprehensive report summarizing their assessment of Waterville’s current recreational assets. This report will be used by the City of Waterville to plan future work and will also be useful to area businesses and others as they strategize for growth and workforce recruitment.
Background:
USDA’s competitive Rural Business Development Grant program funds projects that provide technical assistance and training for small rural businesses. Other recent grant recipients include the Cooperative Development Institute, Sunrise County Economic Council, and Island Institute. Of the eleven Maine RBDG grants awarded in 2023, four were for municipalities, including Waterville.
Towns, nonprofits, business cooperatives, federally recognized tribes, and other entities are eligible to apply. The grant program helps these entities provide services and fill critical gaps for businesses. Visit the Maine RBDG webpage or call (207) 990-9127 to learn more. The program is currently open and accepting applications through February 28, 2024.
USDA Rural Development recently funded other work in Waterville through a grant to the Friends of Quarry Road. The Friends group is a nonprofit 501(c)3 that works in partnership with the City of Waterville to develop Quarry Road Trails by fundraising, assisting with operations, and providing guidance. In December USDA Rural Development provided a grant of $712,500 to the Frends of Quarry Road through the Northern Border Regional Commission (https://www.nbrc.gov/articles/147). The nonprofit will use those funds to improve the facility, including expanding and paving the parking areas and the recreation center.
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USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.
“The City of Waterville is very pleased to receive the USDA Rural Business Development Grant of $45,000 to support our City's strong offerings in outdoor recreation. This grant will allow us to better enhance these public assets and study how they more broadly impact our local economic growth. The data received through the economic assessment study will allow the City to further assist its businesses that benefit from outdoor recreational activities.”
-Bryan Kaenrath, Waterville City Manager
