"Projects funded in this bill are essential to communities throughout the state of Maine and we are thrilled that the conferees have approved them," said Senators Snowe and Collins in a joint statement. "We are especially pleased that the flight service station provision was included as it will protect career employees in Bangor from losing their hard-earned pensions and benefits."
Working to assist employees who could lose their hard-earned retirement as operations at Bangor's flight service station are handed over to Lockheed Martin, Senators Snowe and Collins also successfully included provision in the bill that would allow any flight service station employee who is within two years of retirement to remain employed with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), thereby retaining their federal benefits and pension. These employees could be loaned to Lockheed-Martin and continue to work at a flight service station, but they would remain on the FAA's payroll.
The following projects will receive funding:
• City of Brewer: Redevelopment of Administration Building at Eastern Fine Paper Site -- $325,000 The City of Brewer is planning to relocate its City Hall to the former Eastern Fine Paper mill site, thereby providing the City with much-needed administrative space, which can serve as an anchor for further development of the site. • City of Bangor: Bangor Waterfront Park on the Penobscot -- $325,000 The park will be the centerpiece of Bangor''s waterfront destination for local and regional populations and out-of-state tourists alike. It will provide several venues for outdoor performances including the American Folk Festival. The park will complete long-term efforts to acquire, clear, remediate, and redevelop Bangor''s historic waterfront. • Town of Milo, Maine: Eastern Piscataquis Industrial Park -- $550,000 Funding will allow the Town of Milo to develop the Eastern Piscataquis Industrial Park, which will be jointly shared with the adjacent Town of Brownville, Maine. The communities have jointly purchased the 150 acre property and have created a non-profit development corporation to oversee both the development of the park and its ongoing operations. • Technical Exploration Center (TEC) of Husson College: Expand the Service Capacity of TEC -- $100,000 The Technical Exploration Center enables individuals with long-term disabilities to test pieces of assistive technology equipment to determine if the equipment meets their needs prior to purchasing it. • Town of Van Buren: Van Buren Regional Business Park -- $350,000 Funding will enable the Town of Van Buren to support the development of a regional business/industrial park within the Aroostook County Empowerment Zone that will benefit four local communities: Cyr Plantation, Grand Isle, Hamlin, and Van Buren. Funding would be used to develop the park's water, sewer, electrical service, and transportation infrastructure. • Franco-American Heritage Center at St. Mary''s: Franco-American Heritage Center Renovation Project -- $300,000 Funding will assist in the renovation of the former St. Mary's Catholic Church, the nearly one-hundred year old Gothic-style structure which now houses the Franco-American Heritage Center in Lewiston, Maine. The project involves stabilizing the exterior granite structure of the Church. • Western Maine Community Action: Keeping Seniors Home -- $350,000 Western Maine Community Action will receive funding to support the Keeping Seniors Home (KSH) community action system of home renovations for low-income elderly homeowners. Funding will enable the KSH initiative to renovate over 200 homes, which enables senior citizens to continue to live in their own homes for many years past the point where they would otherwise be forced by their physical limitations to leave their homes for other alternatives, such as assisted living, congregate housing, or nursing home care. Keeping Seniors Home not only enhances the independence and dignity of the elderly, but results in substantial cost savings as well. • University of New England: George and Barbara Bush Cultural Center -- $300,000 This funding will help support the University of New England's effort to fund construction of and equipment for the George and Barbara Bush Cultural Center on its Biddeford, Maine campus. This new facility will provide increased exposure to arts and culture for both its student community and the citizens of southern Maine. • City of Portland: Portland Public Library Renovation -- $200,000 Funding will support the ongoing capital campaign to renovate the Portland Public Library, located in downtown Portland. • Penobscot Marine Museum, Maine-Mawooshen Project -- $100,000 The Penobscot Marine Museum, located in Searsport, will use its funding to develop an inovative program focusing on the interactions between early settlers and the Native American population in the Penobscot Bay area. • Westbrook Housing Authority: Larrabee Village Supportive Services -- $300,000 The Larrabee Village supported living program enables very low income, frail, and elderly people to sustain their choice of living independently with dignity and respect. This is the largest supported living facility in the State, with 150 residents occupying 150 apartments. The occupants'' average age is 79.8, and their income ranges from $186 to $1,358 per month. Larrabee Village offers a unique combination of fully subsidized (Section 8) apartments with the range of services provided designed to support continued independent living. • Auburn-Lewiston Municipal Airport, Parallel Taxiway studies -- $200,000 This will provide funding for Auburn-Lewiston Municipal Airport to complete an environmental assessment and design study for construction of a new taxiway parallel to its main runway. • City of Presque Isle Public Works Department, Garage Proposal -- $700,000 The City of Presque Isle will use this funding to renovate a former Snark missile hangar located on the Presque Isle Industrial Park for use as a municipal garage. • LifeFlight helipad improvements. Bangor, ME --$200,000 This funding would go towards acquiring a Global Information Service (GIS) technology to upgrade the landing pads used by LifeFlight helicopters to enable them to carry out their medical emergency missions in bad weather.
• City of Portland -- $100,000. This funding will support the re-alignment and reconstruction of Somerset Street in Portland.
• The final bill also includes $700,000 to fund an intermodal facility in Augusta, $100,000 for site planning and renovation of an historic building owned by Bowdoin College, in Brunswick, and $500,000 for modernization of Route 116.
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