BIDDEFORD — Several months ago, in an effort to find new revenue streams in light of ever-shrinking state and federal dollars, the City of Biddeford hired a professional grantwriter.

Christine Ohman was signed to a one-year, $60,000 contract position.

In one of her first orders of business, Ohman is applying on the city’s behalf for a U.S. Department of Transportation “Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery,” or TIGER, grant.

The grant, entitled the Mill District Multimodal Transportation Planning Project, would fund design work for a number of projects in the mill district that would be difficult for the city to fund on its own.

Economic Development Director Daniel Stevenson said the grant, which the city was submitting on Friday, is a planning grant for a variety of traffic projects in the mill district.

“The city is applying for a TIGER planning grant of $860,000 to create the design and engineering specifications for three projects within our Biddeford Mill District Master Plan, or BMDMP,” stated Ohman, in an email. “The BMTMP considers pedestrian, bicycle, transit and automobile traffic as well as streetscapes, parks and the natural environment to facilitate the efficient movement of traffic and people throughout the mill district of this rural city.”

The city has pledged $1,382,000 from the Mill District TIF, or 38 percent, of the total project cost.

“The deliverables from this TIGER funded planning project will allow the City of Biddeford to implement a single surface transportation project (with multiple project components) that coordinate with housing, economic development, utilities and infrastructure,” wrote Ohman.

It would also assist the city in determining funding sources to help pay for the implementation of the project.

“The city’s goal,” stated Ohman, “is to coordinate and implement multimodal transportation projects that create a ”˜sense of place’ in the mill district to support economic prosperity and become a model for sustainable development for future generations.”

This year, $600 million has been allocated to the TIGER grant program, with $35 million set aside for planning grants like the type for which Biddeford is applying.

Stevenson said he’s hopeful Biddeford will be awarded the planning grant, but noted that all TIGER grants “are very competitive.”

“There are no guarantees,” he said, “but without Ohman on board, we wouldn’t even have applied for it.”

If the city is successful in securing the planning funding, then it could apply for a TIGER Discretionary Grant, which could be for several million dollars. Ohman said projects that have received TIGER planning grants have a higher likelihood of receiving TIGER capital improvement funding in subsequent DOT or TIGER program funding rounds.

According to the DOT website, since 2009 through the TIGER grant program, Congress has dedicated more than $4.1 billion to fund transportation projects “that have a signification impact on the nation, a region or a metropolitan area.”

These grants provide funding for projects that are not eligible for funding through traditional DOT programs.

Through the application, the benefits of a project that relate to safety, economic competitiveness, state of good repair, livability and environmental sustainability must be spelled out, according to the website.

“DOT also evaluates projects on their expected contributions to economic recovery, as well as their ability to facilitate innovation and new partnerships,” the website states.

— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 324 or dmendros@journaltribune.com.