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The much-anticipated move of the new building for the Sebago Warming Hut program took place on Tuesday, October 20. Building mover Dana Watson and his crew jacked up the former portable classroom that has been located behind the Sebago Elementary School, put it on wheels, and moved it down Shore Road and Route 114 to its new home next to the Nazarene Church. There the building will be renovated and will house the Sebago Food Pantry and a newly created Clothes Closet for those in need of a hand during these tough times.
Last year the Maine School Administrative District 61 (MSAD61 declared surplus a 24’ x 35’ portable classroom at the Sebago Elementary School and offered it to the Town of Sebago. The Town accepted it, voted to lease it back to the Sebago Warming Hut program for $1.00 a year, and advanced the funds needed to move it from the school grounds to its new home.
“We wanted to get the building moved before the snows came, but there were delays in getting the permits to take it down the roads,” said Jim Libby, the job site director for the program. “Dana Watson moved it from behind the school and we ‘parked’ it next to the Rescue Barn until all the approvals came to ‘take it on the road.’”
Dana Watson and son are building movers from Naples who moved two other portables from Sebago Elementary School when they were declared surplus. One is now leased by the town to the Sebago Youth Athletic Association (SYAA) and the other to the Sebago Volunteer Association. Both are located next to the town ball fields and are used for Sebago Days and for ball games.
“I think we’ve moved this building at least five times,” said Watson, referring to the Warming Hut building. “We moved it to different locations at the Lakes Region High School, then to Casco Elementary, then to Sebago Elementary, and now to the Nazarene Church. The building has had a long and useful life.”
Two long steel “I-beams” were put under the building after it had been jacked up, dual wheels attached, chains secured, and the whole package was hooked to Watson’s truck for the trip down the road. There were delays while Watson tried unsuccessfully to negotiate the sharp turn from Pit Road onto Shore Road. The building was finally successfully backed onto Shore Road for the trip to its new home, making a wide turn at the corner with Route 114, and turning on a dime into the parking lot of the Nazarene Church. Maine State Police provided an escort fore-and-aft for the trip down the road. Watson had previously checked for any low-hanging overhead wires.
Libby had already had a cement pad poured for the building, and Watson carefully backed it down onto the pad. The steel I-beams will remain in place until Libby’s crew has completed a cement block foundation, at which time Watson will return to remove the steel beams and renovation of the building interior will begin.
The project is possible because of a Community Development Block Grant for $36,575 won by the town. Together with $8,500 from the town and $6,800 from in-kind donations of labor and material from contractors in the community, a total of $51,875 has been raised for the project. These funds will pay for all the interior renovations, a new roof, water well and septic system, as well as equipment necessary for the Food Pantry and Clothes Closet to operate.
 The Sebago Warming Hut Committee has been active in organizing hot lunches for the town’s elderly and will be instrumental in the renovations to the Warming Hut building to house the Sebago Food Pantry and Clothes Closet. Committee members and Food Pantry Volunteers met with Aaron Shapiro from Cumberland County who is administering the Community Development Block Grant that makes much of the work possible. (l-r) (l-r) Don Olden, John Polito, Rev Jim Ledoux, Maria Porter, Rev Karen Moore, Arlene Cooper, Jim Libby, Roberta Douglass, Arlene Clow, Aaron Shapiro, Corinne Aucoin. Photo by Allen Crabtree
This facility will operate in concert with the hot lunch and warm refuge program of the Sebago Warming Hut to offer a wide range of support to Sebago’s seniors, those with special needs, and anyone in the area who is feeling the pinch of these tough economic times.
For more information about Sebago’s Warming Hut program, to donate food or clothes, or to learn how you can help in this community-wide outreach program, contact Pastor Jim Ledoux at (207) 787-3179 or e-mail him at jllgdl@fairpoint.net.
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