Project grant in jeopardy
State DOT: ‘Aspects’ of streetscape not eligible for funds
BROOKFIELD — The town is in jeopardy of losing about $250,000 of a more than $1 million state grant that would have paid for the third phase of the streetscape project.
The state committed earlier this year to covering 80 percent of the $1.3 million cost, with the town approving $260,000 to install sidewalks and other amenities down Old Route 7 and Laurel Hill Road.
But since then, state Department of Transportation officials have told the town aspects of the project are not eligible for the grant. The state says it will not cover “amenity” items, such as granite curbing, because it does not consider the project to be in Brookfield’s downtown.
“They’re splitting hairs here,” First Selectman Steve Dunn said.
The funding confusion might delay construction, said Greg Dembowski, who manages the project and had hoped the third phase could start next summer. The town would need to approve more money or scale back scope without the full grant, he said.
The same state grant covered part of the $3.5 million first phase of the streetscape project, which installed sidewalks and other amenities at the intersection of Federal and Station Roads in an effort to create a New England-style downtown.
That time, the grant covered amenities like brick pavers and granite curbing.
So, Brookfield officials said they were puzzled when the state said these amenities would not be covered in phase three.
“That appears to be different than the guidelines that we used and they approved in the past,” Dembowski said.
But the state said the first phase was eligible because it was in the downtown.
“This project appears to be outside of the established downtown area,” wrote Robert Buchan, a project engineer with the state, in an email to Dembowski. “Therefore (the grant program) will not participate in streetscapetype amenities or costs to upgrade materials beyond what currently exists or what is necessary to perform the design function.”
Laurel Hill Road hosts the Laurel Hill Apartments, while Old Route 7 is home to Brookfield Cleaners & Tailors and borders where the sidewalks will be installed on Federal Road as part of the project’s second phase.
“It is an intimate part of our downtown,” Dunn said.
Brookfield officials plan to argue their case at an upcoming meeting between the state and leaders from various surrounding towns.
Dunn said he will meet with the commissioner of the state Department of Transportation if that doesn’t work.
“I’m going to take that as far as I need to,” Dunn said.
Granite curbing is expensive, so the town would not be able to cover the cost with the money it already approved, Dunn said.
But this feature is too important to forgo because it is critical to the downtown aesthetic, he said.
“It’s very important to the town that we have a unified look to our downtown,” Dunn said.
Meanwhile, construction on phase two, which extends the streetscape to the Still River Greenway, is expected to start in May.
The town is also seeking a federal grant that would cover 80 percent of the $2.4 million cost to bring streetscape to Newbury Village on Federal Road.