BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. – Town Manager Scott Pickup updated the Bellows Falls Village Trustees on the Depot Street boring project, advising the June 20 meeting attendees that there would be “some activity on Canal Street, but mostly on the bridge,” while the engineers do some additional work. Pickup mentioned that the boring machine may cause some disruption to businesses in that area, but he’s been in communication with business owners about the town’s plans and proposed schedule and encouraged them to participate in the process.
Pickup also reported that some of the material being removed from the bridge is hazardous and will be stored on site in drums during the week-to-10-day process to finish up that portion of the project. After that period, Pickup said nothing more would be done until the fall, when the engineers would make another report, before sending the remainder of the work out for bids.
Pickup recommended residents sign up on the town website to receive updates on scheduling and other transactional information about the plan once it gets underway. “As you know,” Pickup explained, “construction can be a little bit of an impediment on your normal life, but we are working as hard as we can to get people the information on the project as it moves ahead.”
One aspect still pending is the Historic Preservation Society’s (HPS) review of the railing design, but Pickup said other than that, the alignment of the plan is set. Once HPS reports back on their findings, there will be a final schematic of the full scope of the new bridge design made available to the public. The new bridge will allow for two-way traffic flow, but Pickup did say vehicles larger than a box truck may have some difficulty navigating the turn.
The updated summer meeting schedule was confirmed, after Pickup was able to work out some conflicts with board members. The trustees will meet July 11, Aug. 22, and Sept. 12, with the tri-board meeting scheduled for Sept. 26. The town boards will resume their regular schedule in October.
Pickup stated that the $886,000 in ARPA funds received by the town will need to be completely appropriated by the end of 2024, and fully spent by the end of 2026. Projects related to water and wastewater management are being additionally funded by the state through an intended use plan, reviewed every 12-18 months. “We are waiting to hear where we fall on that. The state had said that would be done by the end of May, and we’re at June 21, and I have not heard anything. So, I don’t know what that means,” said Pickup.
Citing the continuing issue of supply chain problems, Pickup said the lead time on some of the necessary equipment could be 12 months, so they’ll have to consider that when planning the schedule, and determine which projects can be completed quickly, and might qualify for other funding grants.
The coordination “will be a challenge,” Pickup admitted, but said he hoped if the board could look at the top five projects on the list, he can begin to lay out a timeline, gather up-to-date cost data, then report back to the board incrementally.
The trustees discussed alternative and non-traditional types of energy and the programs that are still rolling out, and Pickup said Bellows Falls might be able to benefit from community program grants. That will be part of the overall assessment for funding for town building improvements. “I’m hopeful they will pull some of these together and we can talk about them in the next month or two, they just haven’t put those together yet.”
The top five priorities to be reviewed by the trustees are the new Greater Rockingham Area Services (GRAS) boiler, the biosolid program, sidewalk improvements, and community input projects to create housing.
Most of the town money will go toward three projects: the roof of the opera house, structural upgrades for the Rockingham Meeting House, and the Bellows Falls train station.
A plan to offer incentives for individuals to purchase properties that are not currently livable and return the homes to a livable state was briefly discussed, in hopes that would stimulate private investment in village properties. Village President Paul Obuchowski mentioned there was still some confusion on this, and suggested the trustees write up a paragraph describing each project, what the budget is, and how residents can partake in a one-time investment opportunity to benefit the town.
Pickup said that the goal regarding ARPA investments in the town hall and the opera house is to figure out with the police and fire departments what portion of previous bonds approved for past upgrades are still being paid off by the taxpayers. “As we approach the 100th anniversary,” Pickup stated, “[the restoration] has morphed from a simple project into something significant.” To finish the full scope of the project, Pickup said the town will have to make some decisions going forward.
“We want to reduce our debt overall, but to leverage as many [funding opportunities] as we can get our hands on.” Calling it, “a golden window of available federal support for these types of projects,” Pickup remarked, “I’ve never seen anything like it, and it may be something we never see again.”
Regarding appropriating ARPA money, and “an aggressive Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program,” Pickup remarked, “We will prioritize accordingly, make a substantial investment on housing, and replace money in the other programs that we did not anticipate.”
Pickup said that between now and September they would work on the application process with the CDBG program and leverage the $200,000 in ARPA funds toward projects in the village, to incorporate some of the CDBG funds. If the application can be approved and ready to go by August, Pickup said they could then propose a larger investment. “Kill two birds with one stone,” Pickup remarked. He felt the application would be turned around fairly quickly, and was hopeful for a response by November.
The trustees approved a motion introduced by Wade Measure to allot up to $100,000 for the GRAS boiler. Also, the appropriation of $55,800 of village ARPA funds for the town hall and opera house projects were approved, contingent on the town doing the same.
A new village moderator is being sought, and it was decided the trustees would advertise for the position, see who applies, and hopefully appoint someone to the role by the July or August meetings.
The trustees will next meet on July 11, where Pickup said they would discuss the boiler and biosolid storage program. Also on the agenda will be an update on Walpole billing, and ARPA and CDBG allocations.