HOULTON, Maine – The U.S. Congress over the weekend included $2.4 million in FY 2024 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations for a Houlton utility and school.
These congressionally directed funds were approved by the appropriations committee last year for the Houlton Water Co. and the Houlton Region Two School of Applied Technology. The president signed the legislation on Saturday.
The Houlton Water Co. will get $1,749,000 to replace a crucial electrical transmission line and Houlton’s Region Two School of Applied Technology is in the budget for $660,000 to upgrade aging infrastructure.
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, requested the funds last year.
“Maintaining and upgrading electrical and water infrastructure is vital to ensuring the economic and environmental health of communities throughout Maine,” Collins said in a statement.
If President Joe Biden signs the appropriations bill, the Houlton Water Co. will be able to replace a 34.5-kilovolt subtransmission line that runs along a 4-mile section of the Drew’s Lake Road from the Galen Hogan substation and into the Louisiana Pacific manufacturing plant.
“This increases LP’s reliability and increases Houlton’s reliability, “ said Greg Sherman, general manager of the Houlton Water Co.
Sherman said that the 45-year-old section being replaced is part of a larger electricity transmission loop that helps the company prevent outages. Currently, if they lose a portion of a power feed, they can close that section, go around it and continue to transmit power. The new line will be energized all the time, reducing the length of time power is out, he said.
The Region Two School of Applied Technology has been struggling to keep the school’s aging heating and ventilation system going. And last spring, Director Ammie London, applied for the federal funding to update air handlers and heating equipment for the school’s 50-year-old structure.
The air handlers and heating system, a combination of boiler and other components, is so old that companies no longer manufacture the parts because they are obsolete. And the school needs better ventilation and more efficient heat distribution, she said.
Region Two is one of 27 career technical schools in the state. But because it is a stand-alone regional school with its own school board, it does not fall under another school’s umbrella — meaning it often does not qualify for funding, London said.
“It’s difficult to find funding to help with facilities repairs and updates,” London said.
London said that Collins has visited the school several times and has been a lifelong advocate for the trades in Aroostook County.
“Here at the Region Two School of Applied Technology in Houlton, we have seen first-hand her compassion and commitment to improving career and technical education,” London said.
This story was updated to indicate the president signed the legislation.
