Fort Fairfield, Alpha One receive state award

16 years ago
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer

    FORT FAIRFIELD – Alpha One, an organization that assists more than 4,000 people annually with a range of disabilities, and the town of Fort Fairfield were recently honored with the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Project of the Year award.


ImageContributed photo
    ALPHA ONE, an organization that assists more than 4,000 people annually with a range of disabilities, and the town of Fort Fairfield were recently honored with the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Project of the Year award. The award was presented for outstanding achievement in using $240,000 in CDBG funds to develop and implement a program to provide portable ramps for low-income handicapped Maine residents to access their homes and increase the quality of life for themselves and their families. Accepting the award are, from left: Brad Strause, Alpha One project manager, and his seeing eye dog, Sam; John Richardson, DECD commissioner; and Tony Levesque, Fort Fairfield’s community development director.


    The project was the Critical Access Ramp Program and was presented for outstanding achievement in using $240,000 in CDBG funds to develop and implement a program to provide portable ramps for low-income handicapped Maine residents to access their homes and increase the quality of life for themselves and their families.
    “Alpha One had an unmet need,” said Tony Levesque, Fort Fairfield’s community development director. “They had a very limited amount of money and they usually had to loan people money for this type of ramp, and with those limited resources, they might only have made one or two ramps a year.
    “Seeing that major need, they wanted to see if they could offer this program in Maine and contacted the DECD’s Office of Community Development,” he said. “One thing led to another, I got involved, and now 40 ramps have been distributed statewide.”
    Alpha One has contractors preassemble the portable ramps.
    “They have ramps at the ready for hardship cases that don’t have the ability to either leave their home because of physical disability,” said Levesque, “or get back to their home after some accident, incident or health-related issue that prevents a hospital from releasing them to their home because they don’t have any way of getting back into their home.”
    The funding initially comes from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
    “By formula, the state of Maine is eligible for so much money every year, and that amount changes from year to year,” said Levesque. “The state of Maine, through the DECD, has a pool of funds that they set aside called special project matching funds. Initially this was a $30,000 planning grant to train some contractors around the state and see if there was capacity to implement a pilot program – with limited funds – statewide.
    “The first planning grant evolved into a $200,000 construction, plus $30,000 for planning,” he said. “There was also a $10,000 match made by Alpha One and the Maine State Housing Authority, and that’s what this award recognizes.”
    Since the planning grant was awarded two years ago, 40 ramps have been distributed throughout Maine.
    “I know one of them was located in Fort Fairfield for an individual that needed some help,” said Levesque. “As of July 1, we now have a new grant for an additional $200,000 that’s passing through this town. Our goal is to provide another 40 portable ramps.”
    Levesque was contacted by the DECD to see if he would be willing to oversee the pilot project.
    “I oversee the grant,” he said, “but Alpha One does most of the work. Brad Strause, Alpha One project manager, and his staff have been wonderful to work with. They deal with the contractors and the individuals, and deal with building and monitoring the program. The grant funds have to go through a community, and having been familiar with how my administrative progress works, I was asked by Michael Baran, acting director of community development for the DECD, to assist with the grant process.”
    Levesque said it’s very rewarding helping people throughout Maine in this way.
    “I get a lot of self satisfaction as a public servant being able to help with a statewide project to assist others who don’t have that ability,” he said. “It’s very rewarding.
    “I’m hoping that through this program, Fort Fairfield is the shining star,” said Levesque, “and that I can help buff it a little bit.”
    The awards were presented recently at the CDBG’s annual Appreciation Day and 26th anniversary celebration in Augusta by John Richardson, DECD commissioner. The event recognized the efforts of local leaders and officials to foster community and economic development throughout the state.
    Richardson stressed the importance of the good work being done in the state.
    “Community development efforts like those that the CDBG program helps to fund are crucial to economic development. Strong communities provide the foundation we need for a strong economy,” he said. “This program has contributed to revitalizing our communities in many ways and I am honored to be a part of the anniversary of CDBG.”
    In 2008, the CDBG program will award approximately $12.5 million of flexible funding for Maine communities to use toward public infrastructure and facilities, downtown improvements, economic development, housing, public service and planning projects. The funds are distributed through the Office of Community Development, part of the Department of Economic and Community Development. Since 1982, more than $380,000,000 has been invested in Maine communities.
    Fort Fairfield Town Manager Dan Foster said Levesque was very deserving of the award.
    “The DECD contacted Tony and asked if he would be willing to do this on behalf of Alpha One. The reason they went to Tony is that Fort Fairfield has done a disproportionate amount of grants in the state of Maine. Year in and year out, Tony’s documentation has been impeccable,” said Foster. “Consistently, Tony has been the most compliant and done the best job in providing DECD with detailed information for money that’s being spent in Fort Fairfield.
    “They [DECD] wanted to ensure that this grant was well managed, and they wanted Tony to do it,” he said. “I think Tony does an exceptional job at those sorts of things, and it’s obviously recognized at the state level otherwise they wouldn’t ask him to assist. It’s a small credit to Fort Fairfield and a big credit to Tony.”
    Levesque said he will continue to work with Alpha One for as long as they wish.
    “I think it’s yet to be determined if the project is going to be funded in another year,” he said. “If it is, I’m hoping that they will use our services.”
    Levesque received a plaque at the CDBG annual Appreciation Day, as well as an interesting gag award.
    “I helped with the barbecue at the Appreciation Luncheon, and I’m always talking about how much I love to cook and how I’m cooking moose, deer or bear, so they gave me a can of ‘Road Kill Stew,’” he said. “I love both awards. They were totally unexpected. I’m honored.”