$750,000 for New Washburn Public Safety Building Secured by Senator Collins

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins, a senior member of the powerful Appropriations Committee, announced today that $750,000 in funding she requested for the construction of a new Washburn Public Safety building was included in the Fiscal Year 2022 Agriculture, Rural Development, and Food and Drug Administration Appropriations bill.  Last October, Senator Collins toured the existing Washburn Public Safety building that needs to be replaced.

The omnibus funding package passed the House and the Senate and now heads to the President’s desk to be signed into law.

“Washburn’s current public safety building is more than 100 years old and is not well suited to house the modern equipment used by the fire department and police department to keep residents safe.  A new building would allow Washburn’s brave firefighters and police officers to continue to deliver reliable emergency services to protect local residents and businesses while also providing new office space for the town,” said Senator Collins.  “As a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, I strongly advocated on behalf of Washburn to include this critical project in the funding bill.”

“I cannot begin to express how grateful I am for this opportunity.  The lot space that we currently have does not allow for expansion in any way, and replacing the building was completely out of our financial reach,” said Washburn Town Manager Donna Turner.  “We are thrilled to accept these funds for much needed and long overdue upgrades to our facilities.  Thank you to Susan Collins for being such a strong advocate for us and the Town of Washburn.  This will make a big difference for this little town!”

The town of Washburn is home to approximately 1,700 Mainers.  The Fire Department has 18 volunteer firefighters, while the Police Department employs three full-time officers.

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