After two months of working with Biovation and the Department of Economic and Community Development, the town of Boothbay will no longer be required to repay $100,000 to the state of Maine.

In January, municipal officers in Boothbay found out that the town could be held accountable for paying back $100,000 after conditions of a block grant awarded to Biovation in 2009 were not met.

According to the objectives of the Development Block Grant, the $100,000 was supposed to aid the development of six new jobs at Biovation, with four positions meeting the low-and-moderate-income (LMI) levels ranging between $22,700-$36,000. In January 2013, Biovation CEO Karem Durdag said he thought only one employee had met the grant LMI specifications.

However, Biovation did meet the grant conditions, according to Deborah Johnson, director of the Community Development at the DECD.

Johnson said the common misconception about the LMI requirements is the numbers are based on previous, not current, employee income, and that the four new positions at Biovation were actually valid under the grant conditions.

“The whole point of the CDBG funds is to help people who have been unemployed, or even underemployed, and to get them into a better paying job,” Johnson said. 

In light of rectifying the situation, Durdag said, “We had misunderstood the requirements in the instructions. So when we met up with (the town and DECD), they told us we had made a mistake and that we need to correct the assumption we made. Once we did that, the paperwork held true.”

In an email sent to selectmen and the Boothbay Register, Boothbay Town Manager Jim Chaousis said working with Biovation and the DECD was a positive experience. “This had potential to be a very uncomfortable situation but everyone came together and found a solution.

“Not only is the town of Boothbay off the hook financially, but we have retained the relationship with a blooming business in Boothbay and compliance with the state.”