LITTLETON, Maine – The Aroostook County town of Littleton, located about 10 miles north of Houlton, was one of two Maine towns awarded a Land and Water Conservation Fund grant to support a playground revitalization initiative.
U.S. Congressman Jared Golden, D-Maine, announced on Friday, grants totaling more than $600,000 for Littleton and Mexico. Littleton is slated to receive $102,000 and Mexico, $500,950.
The funding will be used to renovate existing infrastructure and add new features to the Littleton Playground and Mexico Recreation Park, according to a release from Golden.
For the past three years members of the Littleton Community Park Revitalization Project have been working to raise matching funds with fundraisers like the Littleton Family Fun Days and the Town Wide Yard Sale, said the town’s office assistant Jordan Farnham, who wrote the grant with the help of several mothers in the community.
Other fundraising efforts included T-shirt sales, bake sales and snowmobile races.
“We could not have done this without the support of the town residents,” Farnham said. “We would not have been able to apply for the grant without having the matching funds.”
The town playground sits on about five-acres across from the town office along Route 1. It was established in the early 1990s through a Land and Water Conservation Fund grant, said Farnham.
Littleton’s $102,000 grant will help the town add new equipment and benches to the playground, regrade a gravel entrance driveway and parking lot, add Americans with Disability Act-accessible parking spaces and replace fencing on the playground.
Mexico’s $500,950 grant will upgrade a tennis court, add basketball and pickleball courts, install lighting, build ADA-accessible picnic infrastructure and add tables, plantings, parking and a new picnic pavilion.
According to Golden, the Land and Water Conservation Fund provides funding to local, state and federal agencies to protect natural areas, water resources and cultural heritage, as well as provide recreation opportunities.
It was established in 1964 and is fully funded by surplus federal property sales, the federal motorboat fuel tax, and revenues from U.S. oil and gas leases, at no cost to the taxpayer.
“I’m pleased that these grants will help Littleton and Mexico residents enjoy quality outdoor recreation opportunities for years to come,” he said in a statement.
