Sen. Carney bill to invest in rebuilding coastal infrastructure at Fort Preble and the Southern Maine Community College campus receives initial support in Maine Senate

AUGUSTA — On Tuesday, April 22, the Maine Senate gave initial approval to a bill from Sen. Anne Carney, D-Cape Elizabeth, to repair Fort Preble and other storm-damaged areas on the campus of Southern Maine Community College. LD 457, “An Act to Fund Climate Resiliency Projects Related to the Repair of Campus Infrastructure Used for Active Transportation and Outdoor Recreation,” seeks to restore access to trails and other campus areas used for recreation and active transportation, making this infrastructure more resilient to future severe weather events.

“The Senate approving LD 457 marks the first step in repairing the storm damage at Fort Preble, the Spring Point Shoreway and the campus of Southern Maine Community College, as well as the first step in restoring access to this important historic landmark and its trails,” said Sen. Carney. “Furthermore, if LD 457 goes on to be funded, it would represent an investment in the resiliency of our educational infrastructure at a time when the State is also dedicating many grant funds to municipal, county and other public facilities. I appreciate my colleagues’ support of this important bill, and I encourage the Appropriations Committee to fund its investment, so we can leverage other public and private funding opportunities from the local to federal level.”

If enacted, LD 457 would invest $1 million in climate resiliency projects to repair historic structures on the campus of Southern Maine Community College, especially those used by members of the community for active transportation and outdoor recreation. Funds could also be used to repair and strengthen Fort Preble and the trails that run over it, protecting the campus and its infrastructure against future storms. This investment would help ensure that South Portland remains the walkable, active, coastal community it is today.

This area also holds an emotional significance for many members of the community. In his testimony supporting the bill at the public hearing in March, Nathan Grannell, who grew up in South Portland and now resides in Scarborough, explained, “Sitting on top of the hill at Fort Preble, right along the Greenbelt Walkway, sit 11 or 12 benches. Each one with plaques remembering loved ones lost. One of those benches was purchased by my family back in 2001 when we lost my grandmother, Norma Foss, to cancer. … That area would become a meeting place for some of life’s most monumental moments for my family, … so you can imagine the pain of going up that hill to find the pathways blocked off, the stairs removed, and the grass overgrown … I urge the committee to pass this bill and fund the restoration project that is needed, for the community, for my grandparents, Norma and Frank Foss, and for the 11 other benches, the other plaques, the other loved ones who, at one time, built this community into what it is.”

LD 457 was also approved by the House in a 75-64 vote. The bill now faces further votes, as well as consideration by the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee.

Sen. Carney represents Maine Senate District 29, which includes South Portland, Cape Elizabeth and part of Scarborough.

###