With a new, $2,000 grant from a Lincoln county program, the town of Wiscasset hopes to discover how to attract a pharmacy back to the area through market research.

Wiscasset Town Manager Laurie Smith submitted an application to the Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission and received the grant from the Assistance with Specific Know-How program.

The town has been working with two different property owners interested in attracting a pharmacy to Wiscasset. However, a lack of adequate market data has been identified as an obstacle to attracting the specific business.

Both property owners have discussed offering incentives specifically to a pharmacy business because they recognized and support the need of this service in the community.

Wiscasset has been without a pharmacy since Waltz Pharmacy closed several years ago. The closest remaining pharmacies average 10 miles away from Wiscasset.

The lack of access to a pharmacy is becoming a burden to older residents, as residents have expressed repeatedly to town officials.

According to the 2010 U.S. Census report, Lincoln County has the oldest population in the state. Wiscasset is surrounded by other smaller communities that also must travel close to ten miles to a pharmacy, Edgecomb, Alna, Dresden, Westport Island, and portions of Woolwich.

Since the funds have been awarded, the next step will be to find and hire a consulting agency to prepare the marketing data.

In an effort to save on the project costs, the Town Planner Misty Gorski will be responsible for coordinating the project and assisting with data collection from previously identified sources.

According to Smith, the data will also provide useful information that will complement additional marketing campaigns for attracting businesses to the town.

This year the Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission established a modest program to provide small awards, with matching local funds, for town projects in support of specific technical assistance such as preliminary engineering, economic research, or other activities to help communities address barriers or obstacles that prevent solving or completing important municipal projects.

Other towns in Lincoln County receiving funds include Somerville, Damariscotta, and Newcastle. Somerville will receive $2,000 for engineering services to develop a 5-year long-range road improvement and maintenance plan. Damariscotta will receive $2,000 to identify and assess improvements to the harbor parking area and related public infrastructure.

The town of Newcastle will receive $1,300 as initial funding in its plan to re-design the town’s website with new functions and easier-to-use interfaces.

According to a press release from the Lincoln County regional Planning Commission, each project will leverage limited town funds, and build on the skills and creativity of local officials, municipal staff, and residents to improve their communities.

For more information, call Mary Ellen Barnes at 881-5188.