JAY — The town manager has submitted a letter of intent for a $100,000 training grant for Polycor of New England to train eight prospective employees in fabricating granite curbing.
The Canadian-based company is developing the North Jay White Quarry. It is in the process of building a plant to make granite curbing off Old Jay Hill Road.
It is the second year in a row the town and Polycor have teamed up to submit a letter of intent to apply for a $100,000 Workforce Development Grant Program. Voters approved applying for a similar grant at the annual town meeting in 2015. The grant was received and four quarry operators were trained.
The town would be the applicant and Polycor would be the co-applicant.
It would not cost the town any money, Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere said.
If the town and Polycor are invited into the next phase of the 2016 grant application process, voters would be asked whether to have the town apply for the grant.
According to Polycor’s project information, there is no granite curbing manufacturing in Maine.
“The opening of the Polycor of New England facility will restore a Maine legacy industry, provide local employment and create future opportunities for export outside of Maine generating much needed value added income to our gross state production,” according to the company’s project information.
Without the proposed training, Polycor representatives believe they would likely have to recruit workers from outside the state.
The projected cost of training and associated items, including salary and benefits for the trainees, an instructor and pre-employment screening is $435,790, according to the company. The grant would offset that amount.
The annual wages and benefits for eight trainees is projected to be $370,400.
Last year’s grant was used to train four quarry operators in the operations of wheel loaders in a dimensional stone quarry, drilling rigs, down-the-hole hammer drill, and quarry wire saws, among other training.
dperry@sunmediagroup.net
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