JAY — Selectmen voted Monday to authorize the town manager to sign a skin cancer prevention grant that the Area Youth Sports program will use to build a shade shelter at ball fields.
The towns of Jay, Livermore and Livermore Falls each applied for $5,000 grants through the Center for Maine Disease Control and Prevention.
Each town was awarded a $1,500 grant for the shelters.
The grant is to provide education on skin cancer and to build shade shelters in each of the towns, Jay Code Enforcement Officer Shiloh Ring said.
AYS Treasurer Scott Hall said that they had hoped to get the most in grant money to build two dugouts in each town. They’ve gotten prices on dugouts and it would cost about $5,000 for one, he said.
Now with the lower funding, they will make new plans and possibly build shade structures over picnic tables, he said.
The sports program had an option to apply for the grants or to have the towns apply for the grants, AYS President Tom Fortier said.
Since the organization does not own any property, officials thought it best for the towns to apply for the money for an opportunity to upgrade town properties, he said.
The idea is to keep it fair in all towns, Fortier said.
This is the first time the grant has been available for recreation, Ring said. Last year, the grant’s focus was on child care centers for shade structures, she said.
This year the state had 25 applications, Ring said.
In other business Monday, selectmen voted to send the proposed updated Comprehensive Plan to voters in June.
dperry@sunjournal.com
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