FAYETTE — A federal grant awarded to the town of Fayette for the installation of a generator at Starling Hall has been frozen, leaving the project and the future use of the historic building as a warming shelter in limbo.
Mike Carlson, vice chair of the Select Board and acting president of Friends of Starling Hall, shared the update during the April 1 board meeting.
“Back in 2022 under a board of selectmen that was constituted differently than it is now by one member,” Carlson said. He said it was a selectman that is no longer on the board that applied for a Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA] grant through Kennebec County Emergency Management Agency. “And the grant was for the installation of a generator that would power Starling Hall in the event of some weather event that necessitated the need for a warming shelter,” Carlson explained.
“One of the purposes of keeping Starling Hall is to use it as a warming shelter if the need arises,” he added. “Obviously if there is no power that defeats that purpose.”
According to Carlson, the application process took several years. “It took a few years, but in 2024, the grant was approved,” he said.
The funding, totaling more than $30,000, was part of the Homeland Security Grant Program administered through FEMA and The Maine Emergency Management Agency [MEMA]. But in March, the town received a mass email from Kennebec County Emergency Management Director Angela Molino notifying multiple municipalities of a sudden freeze.
Carlson said the email was sent to at least 100 different addresses, not Fayette. “It explained that the Maine Emergency Management Agency had informed county emergency management agencies about recent financial holds placed on MEMA-administered grants,” he said.
“The federal government has paused financial activity to allow for the implementation of a 30-day manual review process,” he said. “The hold results in a stop to the draw down and reimbursement process on all levels.”
The message warned that jurisdictions who had been awarded funds were now advised to make their own decisions about moving forward, because reimbursement could no longer be guaranteed.
“Our generator grant is one of those grants,” Carlson said. “The email from Molino goes on to say that jurisdictions that applied for and were awarded this grant from the Homeland Security Grant Program are advised to decide what is best moving forward with the approved projects, as she cannot guarantee reimbursement at this time based on the information provided.”
“There is nothing in this email, nothing in anything we have been provided that says just because we were awarded that money, we are guaranteed to get it,” Carlson said. “There is a very distinct possibility that the grant will be rescinded.”
The delay has derailed the town’s implementation plan. “Our plan basically was to get the generator installed and try to time the reimbursement of the installation with the payment to the contractor,” he said. “But we are now stuck in limbo.”
“The town is not in a position to be able to do this generator on its own,” Carlson added, “plus if we did that would sort of violate the spirit of the agreement that no money from taxation would be spent on Starling Hall.”
“For now,” Carlson said, “they are waiting to see what transpires. Until we get further direction from Angela [Molino] about our grant, the town won’t be pursuing the generator installation.”
In the meantime, Friends of Starling Hall is preparing to advocate for the grant’s reinstatement.
“I have asked our communication director of FOSH and fundraising coordinator who maintains our email contact list to issue an urgent call to action to Friends of Starling Hall members and supporters of Starling Hall and ask them to contact our congressional delegation and demand that they take action to get this funding restored,” Carlson said.
Carlson also noted that Starling Hall’s annual online auction will be going live April 4, and they are hoping to reach a wider audience. The auction is their largest fundraiser of the year. It ends May 2 at 7 a.m. All proceeds from this auction are being dedicated to Starling Hall renovations.
We invite you to add your comments. We encourage a thoughtful exchange of ideas and information on this website. By joining the conversation, you are agreeing to our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is found on our FAQs. You can modify your screen name here.
Comments are managed by our staff during regular business hours Monday through Friday as well as limited hours on Saturday and Sunday. Comments held for moderation outside of those hours may take longer to approve.
Join the Conversation
Please sign into your Sun Journal account to participate in conversations below. If you do not have an account, you can register or subscribe. Questions? Please see our FAQs.