BANGOR, Maine — The Maine Air National Guard’s 101st Air Refueling Wing learned this week that the U.S. Senate will vote on a bill that would give them $7.2 million to renovate Building 512, the base fire and crash rescue station.
“The money will be used to repair and replace the existing roof and siding, as well as improve indoor air quality, thermal systems and make energy efficiency improvements,” Capt. Norman Stickney, spokesman for the Maine Guard, said Friday in an email. “The project will also entail space reconfigurations to allow for additional bunk rooms, fitness, office and classroom space, storage and parking.”
As planned, the size of Building 512 would be increased from 16,850 square feet to 19,400 square feet, which is its current authorized size, Stickney said. Energy efficiency improvements also would be made to reach a LEED Certification level of silver as is mandated by the Air Force for projects approved by Congress. To up the efficiency, the Maine Air Guard is considering alternate energy sources such as geothermal, the captain said.
The building renovations are scheduled to start in early 2016, if funding is approved.
The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee recommended allocating the money for the Bangor Air Guard base and another $270 million for five health-pilot programs nationwide, including one at Cary Memorial Hospital in Caribou, as part of Project ARCH (Access Received Closer to Home), U.S. Sen. Susan Collins announced Thursday.
Both measures passed as part of a 21-9 vote on Thursday. The bill they are part of now awaits review by the full Senate, Collins said.
Collins, an Appropriations Committee member, raised the funding issue during a March 2015 subcommittee hearing with the U.S. Air Force. She is a senior member of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee.