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Select Board keeps door open on STRAP sidewalk grant; appoints Jason Petritis as grant administrator
Summary
Facing an expected local match of roughly $170,000–$189,000 and incomplete engineering inputs, the Select Board voted to continue the application process for a STRAP sidewalk grant but stopped short of committing funds; Jason Petritis was appointed as interim grant administrator.
The North Brookfield Select Board voted at its Oct. 21 meeting to continue pursuing the STRAP sidewalk grant application process while reserving final acceptance until contract terms and matching obligations are clear. The board also moved to appoint Jason Petritis as grant administrator for the application.
Why it matters: The grant offers up to $1 million for sidewalks, but engineering estimates submitted with the application indicated a potential municipal match of roughly $170,000–$189,000. Several board members said the town cannot currently absorb that cost and raised concerns about inaccuracies in the grant inputs and the role of consulting firms.
Select Board members said a state DOT contact advised the town it would not be obligated to provide matching funds until a contract is signed, but the board did not receive written confirmation of that assurance. “I don't have it in writing,” Select Board member Sheila said during the discussion. The board voted to accept the process to pursue the grant — keeping the town’s options open — and later voted to appoint Jason Petritis as the named grant administrator so the application has an authorized contact.
Board members also criticized parts of the original grant preparation: they said the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission (CMRPC) did not file the application as expected and that some cost estimates submitted with the grant were problematic. One select board member said the engineer’s cost estimate had previously proven unreliable on other town projects.
The board’s votes were procedural: accepting the application process preserves the town’s ability to pursue the grant without obligating the town to sign a contract or provide match funding until terms are confirmed. The board said it will follow up with the state contact and the grant preparers to secure written clarifications on matching requirements and to correct any problematic inputs in the application before the town accepts any contract.
Ending: The board passed the motion to continue the STRAP process and appointed Jason Petritis as grant administrator; members said they will contact the state and the grant preparers for written clarification before taking any final contract action.
