Tidewater Telecom’s try at ConnectME Authority funds to expand its service in Alna was a miss Friday. But Tidewater and Alna will try again next round, Third Selectman Doug Baston said in a phone interview Monday.

ConnectME’s Director Heather Johnson said its board picked two of the seven applications the round garnered. The round stemmed from another project falling through for lack of a match after a six-month extension. In a phone interview Monday, she said the board went with a $103,665 request from Otelco for fiber for homes and businesses in Plymouth and Dixmont, and nonprofit Our Khatadin’s $63, 820 request for fiber in Millinocket’s business district.

Tidewater sought $150,000 toward a $185,000 project to bring high speed broadband access to parts of Rabbit Path, Bailey, Golden Ridge, Dock, West Alna, Alna, Colpitt, Peaselee, Christopher and Head Tide Church roads and Route 194 to the Whitefield line, the provider's Dec. 4 application states. It proposed the company put $30,300 toward the project and the town $4,700.

Baston said in exploring the project with Tidewater, selectmen discussed the town chipping in, possibly from the franchise fees it gets from Spectrum. That would take a town vote, he said.

“On the one hand, it’s disappointing,” Baston said about Friday's outcome . “I wish we had gotten it.” But he said everyone knew going in, this was a special round with less money. He said it can be looked an as “a sort of practice round. Now we’ve done our homework. Tidewater wants to do it again, we want to do it again.”

The Authority’s scoring landed Tidewater’s proposal in fifth; but the numbers were close, Johnson added. “They were all good projects."