The City of Portland on behalf of the First Parish Church in Portland received a CLG grant of $15,000 to complete a predevelopment investigation of the First Parish front stairs and the retaining wall adjacent to Freshman Alley in Portland, Maine. This will be a limited engineering investigation for the structural rehabilitation of the stairs and wall associated with the historic church. The granite retaining wall on the northeast side of the Parish Hall Garden is visibly bowed and in danger of failing, and the shifting granite front steps form a safety hazard.

The Lions Club of Peaks Island received a CLG grant, through the City of Portland to fund a Building Condition Assessment of its c. 1909 Greenwood Garden Playhouse. This building, listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2021, is used as a community gathering site for public and private event events, amateur theater, and as the location of annual fundraisers benefiting the island.

Funding was provided to the City of Portland to continue restoration of the Pearl Street frontage of Lincoln Park's perimeter fence. The fence is an original and significant feature of the 1866 park consisting of cast iron fence panels and gates set within dressed granite piers. Project to include complete restoration and reinstallation of 8 of 15 sections of the historic fence along Pearl Street.

As a CLG community, Biddeford must, "Establish written guidelines for the preservation of designated locallandmarks and historic districts in decisions on requests for permits for new construction, alterations,demolition, relocation, additions, or other actions affecting listed landmarks and buildings within historicdistricts," in a manner that provides clear and concise direction for property owners, designers, builders,and city staff. This grant helps them to achieve this goal.

The City of Bangor has received a grant to investigate sites outside established Historic Districts. This large-scale survey will focus on expanding existing districts that multiple of Bangor's guiding documents highlight as having unique cultural, historic, and architectural significance. This survey will be paired with a public outreach campaign informing community members, developers, and realtors about the new sites inclusion and Bangor Historic Preservation.

The City of Portland seeks funding for the Historic Preservation Program Manager. This position staffs the Historic Preservation Board, supervises the Preservation Compliance Coordinator, and oversees all aspects of Portland's Historic Preservation Program, including application review, enforcement, public education, survey, historic designation, design guideline updates, advisory review of development within 100 feet of designated resources, and participation in long-range planning.

Grant funds were awarded to the City of Portland to send four members of its Historic Preservation Commission staff and Commission members to the Keeping History Above Water Conference in Portsmouth, NH. Grant funds were also awarded to the City of Gardiner to send their Preservation Planner to the National Trust of Historic Places Conference in May. Both of these conferences provide professional development for historic preservation professionals and commission members.

The City of Portland Historic Preservation Program has received grant funds to aid in covering the costs of sending the Historic Preservation Program Manager and Preservation Compliance Coordinator to attend the National Trust for Historic Preservation's PastForward conference in Washington DC from November 8-10, 2023. The total cost for this project is expected to be $3,856.00.

This project will digitize the collection of survey forms that the Portland Historic Preservation Program only has in hard copy for the locally designated West End Historic District. This district contains the Western Promenade and Spring Street National Register Historic Districts. Survey forms date from the 1990s.

The City of Portland will use grant funds to sponsor a National Alliance of Preservation Commissions CAMP training for Historic Preservation Board or Commission members and staff. The opportunity to attend without charge is open to three people per Certified Local Government Community. The in-person training will create an opportunity for Board/Commission members and staff to network, face-to-face with other CLG communities.