Oxford County town of Mexico will receive disaster funds to replace fire station
In December 2023, the Oxford County town of Mexico suffered extensive damage in storm-related flooding.
Among other impacts, water inundated the town's fire station, damaging offices, meeting rooms, sleeping quarters and equipment.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said it would give the town a grant to help it build a fire station outside of the flood zone, with the goal of providing more effective, efficient services for residents, according to a news release.
The exact amount of grant funding has not yet been finalized.
The project in Mexico, which had a population of 2,756 at the 2020 census, was among 15 to be funded across 10 states and Puerto Rico.
The money will come from the USDA’s Community Facilities Disaster Grants Program, which helps public bodies, federally recognized tribes and community-based nonprofits rebuild in the aftermath of 2022 and 2023 disasters.
“As we in Maine experience the effects of increasingly severe and damaging storms, we are learning firsthand that recovery is a long-term process,” said Rhiannon Hampson, Maine state director for USDA Rural Development. “While the immediate response is swift and critical, it is truly the months and years to come that can be most challenging.”
A total of $36 million will be invested in the 15 projects announced last week.
Building strength
Mexico is one of 10 communities participating in GrowSmart Maine’s capacity-building program called Building Community Strength.
Another grant award is planned to go to GrowSmart Maine to provide disaster-related technical assistance to rural communities, according to the release.
The grants reflect Rural Development’s commitment to helping rural small towns and remote communities become more resilient in the face of increasingly severe weather, wildfires and other risks.
GrowSmart Maine launched Building Community Strength in late 2023 to help participating communities identify local assets and projects, develop strategic plans, access necessary funding and build a wider net of human connections, according to a separate news release
The towns enrolled in the Building Community Strength program are situated across the state: Calais, Danforth, Enfield, Houlton, Machias, Mexico, Presque Isle, Roque Bluffs, Skowhegan and Winn.
In 2023, GrowSmart Maine secured a USDA Rural Community Development Initiative grant of $304,636 to help fund the program. American Farmland Trust provided matching funding.
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