Curtis Pond Dam Renovation Funded

CALAIS – Sen. Bernie Sanders announced that his office has secured $525,000 for the Curtis Pond Dam Renovation.

The Homeland Security funding will support the Town of Calais in constructing a concrete wall upstream from the existing dam.

On July 19, 2019, the Agency of Natural Resources {ANR} had the dam classified as a significant hazard and the overall condition of the dam was considered poor.

The renovation will help to mitigate risk to the surrounding community and maintain an important resource downstream.

These funds will finally address a problem that the Curtis Pond Association (CPA) has been working to solve for over 20 years. They report that, “from 2003 to 2006 a major effort was made to get the dam fixed but no action was taken and the effort was dropped.” Then, “Between 2006 and 2011, minimal effort was made to repair the dam, but with tropical storm, “Irene”, the Calais Select Board contracted with the engineering firm, Dubois & King, to produce a final design, estimate and prepare an application for permits for dam repair.”

The CPA reports that, “Since fall of 2020, a group called the ‘Curtis Pond Dam Exploratory Group’ have been meeting to try again to look into getting the Curtis Pond Dam fixed. Research about ownership and insurance, looking at past reports/presentations/efforts and talking with people in ANR and members of the Calais Select Board has been done.

“On May 24, 2021, the CPA presented to the Calais Select Board our findings and requested to work together to get the dam repaired. . . In November 2021 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the CPA and Calais Select Board charting that path.”

That agreement, says the CPA, “outlines a path to fixing the dam, resolves the long-standing issue of ownership of the dam, and demonstrates our joint commitment to the project. We’ve also teamed up with the Maple Corner Community Center to assist with fundraising.”

A post on the CPA web side indicates that, “By delaying the reconstruction of the dam from the 2023 building season to the 2024 building season, the cost shot up from $800k to $1.2M! Of that $1.2M, we’ve raised just shy of one million dollars. That funding comes from a $450,000 Town Bond, $100,000 in federal ARPA funds, and over $417,000 raised by private donations (including $30,000 from the Maple Corner Community Center.)

“In order to construct in 2024, we need to have the funding gap filled, and all previous pledges collected, by March 11, 2024.”

The funds secured by Sanders will more than fill the funding gap.

On Tuesday, March 26 Calais Select Board Member and Curtis Pond Association Vice President Jamie Moorby wrote, “We received our final permit, from Army Corps of Engineers, yesterday. We are working closely with a contractor and our engineering team and expect that, with this funding secured, we should be able to complete construction this coming summer. We anticipate a start date of around June 1st.”

This funding is part of an additional $15.3 million in federal funding on behalf of 13 Vermont projects. This funding brings the total amount of Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) secured by Sanders in Fiscal Year 2024 to $57.951 million.

Sanders said: “At a time when Vermont faces many challenges, I am proud that my office has been able to work with communities and non-profit organizations throughout the state to secure funding for a number of extremely important initiatives. These funds will improve our ability to deal with health and dental care, child care, education, drug abuse, emergency management, and many other needs.”
This most recent tranche of federal funding for Sanders’ CDS projects – which passed the Senate on March 23 as part of the second package of FY2024 appropriations bills – includes nearly $2 million to establish a University Assisted Community Schools Collaborative at the University of Vermont, nearly $1.9 million for the Vermont Agency of Education to expand the Global Leadership Program statewide and $665,000 to establish the Youth Community Action Corps at the Vermont Folklife Center.
“As Congress now turns to Fiscal Year 2025, I encourage Vermonters to send me their ideas on how we can best use federal funds to address the pressing needs we face across our state,” said Sanders. He is now accepting preliminary requests for Vermont-based projects for Fiscal Year 2025. Requests are due by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, April 8, 2024. Additional information, as well as the application, can be found on his website, sanders.senate.gov/congressional-directed-spending-requests/.”