The Mexico Fire Station at 118 Main St., seen Friday, sits in a flood zone where its offices, meeting rooms, sleeping quarters and equipment were damaged by floodwaters in December 2023. The federal government announced Friday that the town has been selected to receive money to build a station outside the flood zone. “This is excellent news,” Town Manager Raquel Welch-Day said Friday. Bruce Farrin, Rumford Falls Times

MEXICO — The federal government announced Friday that the town will receive money to build a new fire station to replace one heavily damaged in a catastrophic flood in December 2023.

“When disaster strikes, it is easy to feel alone,” Rhiannon Hampson, state director of U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development, said in announcing the grant. “When disaster strikes, it is easy to feel alone. As we in Maine experience the effects of increasingly severe and damaging storms, we are learning firsthand that recovery is a long-term process.

“While the immediate response is swift and critical, it is truly the months and years to come that can be most challenging,” she said. “Navigating the process of funding can be time consuming, and at USDA Rural Development we are here to ensure that our neighbors are getting what they need.”

The town suffered extensive damage in rainstorm in December 2023. Floodwaters inundated the fire station at 118 Main St., damaging offices, meeting rooms, sleeping quarters and equipment.

The Mexico project is one of 15 to be funded across 10 states and Puerto Rico with a total of $36 million from the Community Facilities Disaster Grants Program. The exact amount for Mexico has not been finalized, Hampson said.

The money will pay for a fire station built outside of the flood zone and will provide more effective and efficient services to residents.

“I don’t know exactly how much we’re getting,” Town Manager Raquel Welch-Day said Friday. “I don’t know what the process even looks like. But the fact that we made that first cut, we’ll get something. I’m excited. This is excellent news.”

Mexico Town Manager Raquel Welch-Day reacts Friday to the news that the town has been selected to receive a federal grant to build a new fire station out of the flood zone. Bruce Farrin/Rumford Falls Times

She said she is hopeful the town will receive $4.5 million, the amount requested in its application to the USDA .

At the 2021 annual town meeting, voters approved spending up to $110,000 from surplus and bought the former Waleik’s Field of 20 acres along the Roxbury Road for a fire station.

“If we can get the $4.5 million, I would say we would build a stand-alone fire station on the original land that we purchased. If we get the whole amount, then we’re going to be going to an architect saying that we have this much money to work with. What can we build for $4.5 million?”

Welch-Day said this has been a hard year for the town.

The December flood raised havoc with the downtown, damaging the fire station, which relocated to the Med-Care Ambulance base in Mexico for several weeks during repair work; the post office, which has yet to return; the plaza that housed the Dollar Store, which recently reopened; and the popular Dick’s Restaurant, which reopened after much repair work.

In August, the Police Department was forced to close because of a lack of officers. An effort is underway to recruit new officers and reopen the department.

Another option for the Fire Department, along with the library and town office, is moving to the Meroby Elementary School at 21 Cross St., which the town voted to accept when the new Mountain Valley Community School opens in 2025 on the campus of Mountain Valley Middle School at 58 Highland Terrace.

“There’s so many pieces out there right now,” Welch-Day said. “There’s so many unknowns over here.”

Hampson said Mexico is one of 10 communities participating in GrowSmart Maine’s capacity-building program called Building Community Strength.

Welch-Day and Selectmen Randy Canwell and Peter Merrill will also attend the GrowSmart Summit on Monday at the Waterville Opera House where many of the Building Community Strength partners will be featured. Hampson will meet with town leaders at the summit.

“The Biden Harris Administration has empowered us to grow deeper connections to our local communities and partners, and through these renewed relationships we are seeing action and progress.” Hampson said. “Our community partners on the ground, the expertise of our staff, and the quick action of this Administration have all demonstrated what we can accomplish when we work together – and the people of Mexico are not alone.”