Sen. Carney introduces bill to invest in rebuilding coastal infrastructure at Fort Preble and the Southern Maine Community College campus
AUGUSTA — On Monday, March 3, Sen. Anne Carney, D-Cape Elizabeth, introduced a bill to repair Fort Preble and other storm-damaged areas on the campus of Southern Maine Community College in order to restore access to trails and other campus areas used for recreation and active transportation. LD 457, “An Act to Fund Climate Resiliency Projects Related to the Repair of Campus Infrastructure Used for Active Transportation and Outdoor Recreation,” was the subject of a public hearing before the Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs.
“The storms last winter did tremendous damage to Fort Preble, the Spring Point Shoreway and the campus of Southern Maine Community College, which has led to the suspension of access to this important historic landmark and its trails,” said Sen. Carney. “LD 457 would represent a crucial investment in rebuilding and restoring this part of our coastline, as well as ensuring Fort Preble and its trails are protected against future storms. I look forward to the opportunities this investment would create to leverage other public and private funding opportunities from the local to federal level.”
LD 457 will 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.
“Sitting on top of the hill at Fort Preble, right along the Greenbelt Walkway, sit [sic] 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,” said Scarborough resident Nathan Grannell in his testimony in support of the bill. “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 like a post-apocalyptic wasteland. … 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 faces further action in the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee.
Sen. Carney represents Maine Senate District 29, which includes South Portland, Cape Elizabeth and part of Scarborough.
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