FORT KENT, Maine — Following several weeks of uncertainty and concern regarding whether they would have to relocate to Caribou, staffers at the Department of Health and Human Services’ Fort Kent office were told Monday the agency would not be closing the St. John Valley office.
“The department has made the decision to downsize our footprint instead of moving positions,” DHHS spokesperson Samantha Edwards confirmed in an email to the St. John Valley Times, Monday.
The 17 employees at the Fort Kent office were sent letters Monday, stating their positions would not be relocated to the Caribou DHHS office and that the department anticipates finding a new site in Fort Kent.
The letter to employees gave no dates for the move to a new Fort Kent location and only indicated that “additional details” would be coming in the near future.
On May 27, those same employees had been sent a letter informing them the department would be relocating them to Caribou and that the regional office in Fort Kent would be closed Monday, Sept. 5. At the time, Edwards said the decision was because of the high cost of rent at the current location on Market Street and a need to improve efficiencies in management.
According to Edwards, the current building space costs DHHS $106,000 annually.
Since then, Gov. Paul LePage has had to answer criticism from St. John Valley residents and the Maine State Employees Association about the state’s decision. Protesters who picketed outside the Fort Kent DHHS office last month expressed concerns about the impact the closure would have on the children, elderly and disabled from surrounding communities served by the regional office.
There was no immediate comment from the governor’s office this week regarding DHHS’ decision not to close the Fort Kent office.
Originally, DHHS had proposed to find some space for “itinerant” services in Fort Kent, which would be open to clients only at certain times of the week. However, the bulk of Fort Kent employees would have been based full-time out of Caribou.
On June 28 and 30, some local DHHS employees and supporters protested the proposed closing. Those opposed to the move were concerned clients in the St. John Valley would not adequately be served by DHHS if the nearest office was located in Caribou.
Former Maine Sen. Judy Paradis and her husband, Ross Paradis, who live in Madawaska, were among those who protested the planned closure last month.
Paradis said Tuesday she was “absolutely delighted” at the news DHHS would remain in Fort Kent.
Paradis said there are “vulnerable” people who need access to the face-to-face services a local office provides.