Disaster meeting lures few people Fort Fairfield seeks input on grant

FORT FAIRFIELD – Few people turned out Wednesday night to learn more about a grant received by the town that will help it deal with future natural disasters.

Earlier this summer, the town was awarded a two-year, $300,000 federal Project Impact grant designed to help it become more disaster-resistant.

Fort Fairfield was chosen to receive the funding because of its efforts to develop flood prevention and mitigation programs, including an earthen dike project that was begun with federal assistance after the downtown was severely damaged by floods in the mid-1990s.

Millions of dollars in damage resulted when the Aroostook River overflowed its banks after ice clogged the river.

According to Michael Eisensmith, Project Impact coordinator for Fort Fairfield, two meetings were held earlier in August with community and regional leaders to determine a direction for the project.

“It’s very important for people … to ask questions [and] provide information and possible alternatives to some of the directions taken by the steering committee,” Eisensmith said Thursday during a telephone interview. “It must be as community-driven as possible.”

Wednesday’s meeting was intended to give residents the opportunity to learn more about the project and ask questions.

Eisensmith noted, however, that it still is early in the process, and he expects more interest will develop as people learn more about what is going on.

“A lot of people don’t know what it is, what it means or what it’s going to do,” he said.

So far, three focus areas have been identified for the town: communications, planning and emergency resources.

Action plans have been developed for each area, and a steering committee that includes emergency management personnel, school officials and the Town Council and manager, will provide ongoing guidance and monitoring throughout the process, Eisensmith said.

“There’s nothing really definitive yet,” he said. “It’s going to take four to six months to get to the point where we’ll have a good idea what we’re doing with the grant money.”