Through Jan. 31, 2020, The Nature Conservancy, working with Efficiency Maine, will offer grant funding for municipalities with populations below 4,000 to cover up to 75% of the cost of converting to high-efficiency, LED lighting inside or outside municipal buildings. A completed, digital application must be received no later than Oct. 25, 2019. The Nature Conservancy has developed a series of selection criteria so it can administer this program.

Geared toward municipalities with fleet vehicles, a presentation on biodiesel and the experiences in using them will be held on Sept. 26, starting at 1 p.m., in Portland. The speaker will be Steve Howell, acting president and the founder of MARC-IV, an agricultural consulting firm. Howell has a background in chemical engineering and is considered to be a leading expert on biodiesels. The event will be held in the Maine Standard Biofuels office, 51 Ingersoll Drive.

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife and USDA-Wildlife Services are offering two training sessions detailing the design and installation of beaver exclosure structures and water leveling devices for the purposes of managing wetland water levels to reduce road and property damage while maintaining valuable beaver created wetlands. The trainings will take place in Wilton on September 25 and Buckfield on October 3. 

The Maine Community Foundation will hold its Invest in Maine Summit at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor on Nov. 13, which will explore ways that entrepreneurs and innovators can be supported to collectively create a brighter future for our state. The theme is, “Maine Grown: Building a Future on Big Ideas.” The event starts at 3 p.m. and ends at 7:30 p.m. Municipal attendance is encouraged.

Lawmakers recently carried over the Maine Municipal Association's platform legislation, LD 335, "An Act To Require the State To Distribute 25 Percent of Adult Use Marijuana Retail Sales and Excise Tax Revenue to Generating Municipalities" for additional consideration at a future session. It is expected that this bill, which has always sought a share of tax proceeds and has never proposed a new or additional tax, will be revisited in the second regular session of the Legislature that begins in January.  Presentations, a Legalization Timeline, List of Terms and a “Cheat Sheet” have been added to MMA’s “Marijuana Resources” page at: https://memun.org/Training-Resources/Local-Government/Marijuana-Resources

Maine Municipal Association’s Legal Services Department has once again updated its Marijuana Statutes “Cheat Sheet” to reflect the most recent amendments to the state’s marijuana and hemp laws.

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection is making funding available to municipal and quasi-municipal wastewater treatment facilities that do not have sludge dewatering infrastructure. The deadline to apply for these grants is Sept. 20, 2019. Grant awards will be a maximum of $150,000 per applicant. The effort is necessary due to the potential presence of PFAS compounds in sludge.

The Sustain Mid-Maine Coalition has produced a report – “Opportunities for Municipalities to Lower Energy Costs by Investing in Solar” – that it wants to share with towns and cities, which also may be considering renewable energy sources. The nine-page document focuses on strategies that municipalities can use in deciding whether to invest in solar programs that are designed mainly to lower electricity costs.

The Maine Municipal Association posted a new educational video for members on how to write effective releases that towns and cities can send to weekly and daily newspapers, radio stations, television stations and news websites. The 14-minute video offers advice about the length and content of media releases, as well as describing the “key elements of news,” which municipal leaders can consider in making decisions about communicating through the media and directly with citizens.

A researcher at the University of Albany in New York seeks input on the role of public libraries in Maine, including the potential inter-connectedness between libraries, municipal government and their communities. “Smart city technology” is a growing trend in municipal governance, and this university is exploring whether public libraries can play larger roles. Completing a survey would be a first step.