FORT KENT, Maine – Several renovations and upgrades are planned at Fort Kent’s Riverside Park this year, including a “Hero Wall” made of granite.
The wall will be 20 feet long and seven feet tall. It will allow residents to honor veterans and loved ones by donating to its construction in order to place images and text commemorating heroes and sponsors on the wall.
Town Manager Suzie Paradis said the idea came about when Fort Kent native Mike Roy contacted the town about creating a wall at Riverside Park. Roy created a similar wall at Northern Maine Community College in Presque Isle roughly 16 years ago.
Donation tiers include sponsoring a veteran or individual, corporate sponsorship, and becoming a wall sponsor.
The individual and veteran tier is $200 and will give people an 8.5-inch by 11-inch tile on which donors can include a photo and information about the person of their choice, such as name, rank, years of service, and wars fought, or biographical information.
The corporate sponsor tier, which is $600, will permanently place a company’s logo and/or a message on the wall. The wall is limited to a total of 20 sponsor tiles, with ten on each side.
The $3,000 wall sponsor tier will give the donor a ten-foot section of the wall along with four tiles to feature a company, business, or message of their choosing. Four of these spots are available, as the wall can only fit two on each side.
All tiles will be adhered to the wall between May and October of this year, depending on weather conditions. Each tile will be permanent.
All money donated will go toward the construction of the wall. If any funds are left over, they will go into a town account for equipment and park improvement.
In addition to the wall, all the park’s equipment is set to be replaced as soon as the ground thaws. The park’s existing gazebo will also be moved closer to the playground, providing space for an additional soccer field.
The equipment cost roughly $50,000, but with groundwork and construction the total project cost is estimated at roughly $75,000.
And while the town has paid this already, it is looking at reimbursement via grants. Paradis said they have written a grant request from the International Lions Club in collaboration with the local Lions Club for the full $75,000.
The Knights of Columbus has also offered to donate about $10,000 toward the playground park equipment.
Any money leftover from the Hero Wall project will either be used to offset costs associated with playground equipment repairs or, if those costs are already covered, it will be placed in an account for any future park upgrades.
Paradis said they expect to have the park upgrades finished prior to the moose permit lottery on June 15.
The town is asking for individuals to send checks for the project to “Town of Fort Kent-Hero Wall Attn: Suzie Paradis, 416 Main Street, Fort Kent ME 04743.” Anyone with additional questions about the wall is asked to contact the town office at (207) 834-3090.
