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V O L . X X V I N O. X X A U G U S T 2 4 , 2 0 2 0 6 Zoonotic Infectious Diseases awarded Maine $2.7 million to support the state's response to the COVID-19 pan- demic. In other COVID-19 funding news, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded a total of $2.2 million to public housing agencies across the state of Maine to support af- fordable housing and bolster COVID-19 prevention and response efforts. The Health Resources and Services Administration's Rural Communities Opioid Response Program awarded Northern Light Health in Brewer, MaineHealth in Portland, Redington- Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan and Wabanaki Health and Wellness in Bangor each $1 million to combat sub- stance and opioid use disorders. Eight Maine fire departments were awarded grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's FY2020 Assistance to Firefighters Grant COVID-19 Supplemental program. Recipients included Westbrook Fire Department, $21,810; Georgetown Fire Department, $12,529; Houlton Fire Department, $7,157; Arundel Fire Department, $5,816; Veazie Fire Department, $5,550; Woolwich Fire Department, $3,140; West Gardiner Fire Department, $2,127; and Jefferson Fire Department, $1,167. ImmuCell reports wider loss ImmuCell Corp. (Nasdaq: ICCC), a Portland biotech company that makes preventive health products for beef and dairy cattle, reported a 9% second- quarter increase in product sales and a widening net loss amid higher expenses related to product development. Total product sales increased by 9%, or $265,000, to $2.97 million in the quarter that ended on June 30, compared to the same period a year ago. e company also posted a net loss of $766,000, or 11 cents a share, during the second quarter, up from a net loss of $627,000, or 9 cents a share, in the same period last year. Product development expenses in the second quarter amounted to $1.1 million, compared to $820,000 a year earlier. N O T E W O R T H Y S O U T H E R N The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded $662,518 to the UMaine sets fall policies e University of Maine System announced a 20% cut in room and board rates during the fall semester to account for a shortened in-person semester and post-anksgiving break transi- tion to distance learning because of the pandemic. It also unveiled an updated 2020-21 academic calendar, new travel restrictions for students, faculty and staff and detailed plans for COVID-19 test- ing and screening. University-sponsored domestic travel outside of Maine will continue to be prohibited unless special permission is granted for compelling circumstances. e system said it also "greatly discourages" personal travel by students, faculty and staff outside the state during the fall semester and will require a negative COVID-19 diagnos- tic test or a 14-day quarantine of any community member upon returning to Maine from a state not exempted from 14-day guidelines per Maine civil authorities. On top of that, it will prohibit university-sponsored interna- tional travel and expects to maintain the prohibition through the end of the 2020 calendar year. N O T E W O R T H Y S T A T E W I D E U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King announced that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Emerging and B U S I N E S S M A I N E Business news from around the state S T A T E W I D E S O U T H E R N Biddeford gets its long sought-after parking solution B y W i l l i a m H a l l B i d d e f o r d — After years of discussion, planning and pent-up demand, the city of Biddeford broke ground on a 640-space municipal parking garage designed to help rein- vigorate its downtown Mill District. The five-story Lincoln Garage will go up on a city-owned lot at 3 Lincoln St., formerly the site of the Maine Energy Recovery Corp. waste-to-energy plant. Construction is expected to be complete by July 2021 and cost $22.3 million. Par tners on the project include Treadwell Franklin Infrastructure Capital, based in Yarmouth; consulting firm James W. Sewall Co., of Old Town; Amber Infrastructure Group, an international firm providing equity financing; and Portland-based PC Construction Co. The project includes all aspects of the garage's develop- ment and operation, from construction and financing to ongoing maintenance. Biddeford contracted with Treadwell Franklin and Sewall to develop and manage the parking facility, as well as nearby surface lots. Amber will hold a 26-year lease on the facility. Premium Parking will operate the parking services. In addition to the garage, the project also includes further development of Biddeford's RiverWalk and other pedestrian paths, connecting the garage to Mechanics Park. Construction costs will be paid for by revenue from the city's tax increment financing, or TIF zone, and income from parking fees. No property tax dollars will be used for the project, and the tax rate will not increase because of it, the city has said. It's estimated the garage will provide $16.4 million in property tax revenue for Biddeford in the first 10 years of operation and a benefit of $39.8 million over 25 years. Biddeford has been exploring the creation of a parking structure for the past several years, as new commercial and residential development has brought more people downtown and strained the capacity of city streets and lots. After approval by the City Council, Biddeford put the project out to bid in 2018 and signed a contract with the develop- ers last September. "This parking garage is a critical piece in the redevelopment and reemergence of Biddeford as a desirable community," Mayor Alan Casavant said during the groundbreaking ceremony. "It shatters the old stereotype of the city being nothing more than a dying mill town, it provides the needed parking spaces to be a catalyst for future development within the district, and it is a symbol of pride in who we are as a people." Stephen Jones, president and CEO of Treadwell Franklin, said in a news release, "TFIC is grateful to its partner, Amber, and likewise to Mayor Casavant, Biddeford's city council and staff, for their foresight and dedication to these projects, espe- cially in challenging times and economic uncertainties. We are proud to become a part of the Biddeford community and look forward to participating in reinvigorating the local economy." Tom O'Shaughnessy, head of Amber Infrastructure US, said, "Amber and [parent company] Hunt are delighted to have been able to accelerate the delivery of the city of Biddeford's critical infrastructure plans. We are pleased to be working with the city of Biddeford and helping to deliver key components of the city's plan for the redevelopment of the downtown Mill District." B R I E F R E N D E R I N G / C O U R T E S Y K N I G H T C A N N E Y G RO U P The five-story Lincoln Garage will cost $22.3 million and provide 640 parking spaces in a part of town that has been growing in recent years.

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