Press Releases

Senior House Appropriations Committee Member Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today announced she has secured more than $16.7 million for community projects in Maine’s First Congressional District. Funded through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024, Pingree’s 15 projects address a wide range of Maine community needs, including affordable housing, public safety, youth engagement, career and technical education, municipal infrastructure, and climate change. 

“In addition to urgently-needed domestic investments to boost the economy, fight the climate emergency, honor our veterans, and defend reproductive freedom, the funding we have secured will directly aid and enrich our communities,” said Pingree. “From projects focused on addressing Maine’s affordable housing crisis and improving water infrastructure, to supporting our youth and underserved communities, this funding prioritizes widely supported projects that will make the biggest difference in the lives of Mainers.”

The 15 projects Pingree successfully funded are as follows:

1. $1,000,000 to construct a Career and Technical Education (CTE)/Makerspace center at St. George Municipal School. This facility will combine traditional vocational tools and contemporary digital tools in one location to expand access to students of all ages (PreK-12th grade), as well as the larger community through adult education programs, “Open Shop” times, and partnerships with local business and entrepreneurs. By providing hands-on experience in skilled trades, the project will address critical labor shortages and fuel economic growth in Maine.
   
   
2. $921,250 for the Trekkers Youth Hub in Rockland to renovate the Youth Hub’s existing building, construct a multi-use structure to house three school buses and provide flexible youth programming space, and update the grounds to include parking and outdoor classroom spaces. The project will provide accessible community space for local youth, which is essential to their safety and development.
   
   
3. $400,000 for the Richmond Utilities District for drinking water infrastructure improvements, including performing needed storage tank maintenance and repairing leaks in the water storage tank to prolong the life of the existing facility and keep the tank in good working order. This federal funding will ease the burden of borrowing funds on the district’s small user base and will free up borrowing capacity for the other infrastructure needs within the district’s service territory.
   
   
4. $1,940,000 for the Town of Brunswick to install an 11,100-foot water line to the Bay Bridge community mobile home park and surrounding neighborhoods to bring a reliable drinking water supply to hundreds of vulnerable Brunswick residents who live in Bay Bridge Estates. The extension of the public water system will help meet and maintain Safe Drinking Water Act standards by bringing safe, reliable drinking water to an underserved area in Brunswick.
   
   
5. $959,757 for the Town of Old Orchard Beach for upgrades to its sludge processing building and equipment, as well as its remote pump stations to improve the processing and storage of sludge to mitigate groundwater contamination from land application of biosolids. The project will support the long-term sustainability and reliability of critical public infrastructure to ensure public health and safety and protect the Old Orchard Beach economy.
   
   
6. $959,757 for the York Sewer District to improve the town’s wastewater treatment facility, including upgrades to reduce nitrogen, improve water quality and increase energy efficiency; upgrades to the sludge storage tanks to reduce odors that are impacting surrounding neighborhoods by covering the tanks and installing odor control equipment; mechanical equipment upgrades include existing influent screen that is past its useful life to increase reliability and performance. Improvements to the wastewater treatment facility will help protect public health and the surrounding environmental resources.
   
   
7. $1,466,279 for Avesta Affordable Housing to facilitate the acquisition costs associated with the new construction of a 30-unit Housing First development in Downtown Portland to help reduce chronic homelessness. Once formerly homeless individuals secure housing and support, data show that they spend less time in jail, interact less with the police, take fewer ambulance trips, and spend less time in the emergency room, reductions that result in taxpayer savings.
   
   
8. $540,000 for the Equality Community Center in Portland to finish refurbishment of their building to create a collaborative community hub and workspace for underserved populations. 
   
   
9. $1,000,000 to construct Mainspring, a housing and social services resource hub in Kittery, Maine. The project will help bring individuals and families out of poverty by providing easy access to comprehensive programs and services in one centralized location, including a food pantry, affordable housing, and comprehensive case management. These services offer long-term stability and empower individuals to become engaged and better contribute to the community. The center will also relieve pressures on publicly funded services, such as police and fire departments.
   
   
10. $2,000,000 for Preble Street’s Joe's Place, a community center and shelter that will provide 24/7, barrier-free access for runaway and homeless youth in southern Maine. Joe’s Place will provide emergency shelter and connect youth to supportive services that reduce chronic homelessness, including long-term supportive housing, housing vouchers, transitional housing, and rapid rehousing. Establishing a safe and secure environment for teens reduces the risk of involvement in the juvenile justice system, lowering costs associated with law enforcement and the criminal justice system.
    
    
11. $1,310,000 for the Mountainside Community Cooperative to install and connect a sewer extension to an aging and failing subsurface wastewater disposal system at Mountainside Community Cooperative, a community-owned mobile home park in Camden that serves low to moderate income individuals aged 55 plus. The sewer extension will support the preservation of the 52-unit housing cooperative and ensure an ongoing tax base for the town and the state. Without the sewer extension, the homes are at risk of drinking water source contamination, which has the potential to render all 52 units uninhabitable.
    
    
12. $420,000 for the Portland Housing Authority Affordable Housing Project to construct an eight-unit homeownership development with six units reserved for households earning at or below 120 percent of Area Median Income (AMI) in the East Deering neighborhood of Portland. The homes will provide a bridge for many working residents to transition out of public housing or other rental housing to an income-restricted affordable homeownership opportunity.
    
    
13. $1,540,000 for SKILLS Inc. to support the construction and renovation of two affordable housing properties in Waterville to help prevent the displacement of 12 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Quarry Road assisted housing renovation accomplishes federal and state goals for access to Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services and shortens the gap in age-friendly affordable housing for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and autism.
    
    
14. $790,000 for infrastructure upgrades at Sea Meadow Marine Working Waterfront. Specifically, the funds will be used to rebuild the bulkhead and launch ramp and install water and sewer systems. The project will not only dramatically improve the overall utility of the site so that current and future tenants can expand their businesses, it will also support the retention of an important local working waterfront in an area that has otherwise seen rapid growth of residential development and the related loss of waterfront access for people who make their living from the sea.
    
15. $1,500,000 for the Westbrook Regional Vocational Center to build a fire training facility to support the city of Westbrook and surrounding area fire departments.

Background

Each year, the United States Congress considers and enacts annual appropriations bills that provide the federal government with the funding it needs to operate. In 2021, the House Appropriations Committee reestablished Community Project Funding after the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress found that congressionally directed spending boosted bipartisanship, facilitated member-to-member cooperation, and gave members an equal stake in the success of appropriations bills.

For the 2024 Fiscal Year, each House member was permitted to submit 15 projects for consideration, which had to be thoroughly vetted and publicly disclosed on their House website.

Pingree has been a member of the House Appropriations Committee since 2013 and is Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies.

###