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Taunton’s economic-development office outlines multi-year grant gains; Winton Mills infrastructure request among pending awards
Summary
OECD staff reported steady increases in grant awards over five years, FY26 awards to date of about $313,000, and said Taunton has a pending Winton Mills infrastructure application worth roughly $3.7M–$3.8M; presenters stressed the value of a $300,000 city grant-match fund that improves competitiveness.
Officials from the Office of Economic and Community Development presented a multi-year grants update to the council, highlighting growth in the number and size of awards and recent project activity.
Heather Rios, grant manager, reviewed five years of grant activity and said Taunton has improved its success rate by increasing application volume and interdepartmental coordination. The city reported FY26 awards to date of $313,000 and said it has several pending applications expected to be announced in coming weeks, including a Winton Mills infrastructure grant the presenters estimated at about $3.7 million to $3.8 million.
Presenters described a range of awards: environmental and cultural grants for library-window preservation and Memorial Park renovation, a TDI three-year program for neighborhood revitalization in Whittenton Village, MEMA formula grants and grants for cybersecurity and digital-equity planning. Heather Rios and Jay Batica noted the city’s grant-match fund (discussed at $300,000) helps secure additional points on applications that require local contribution.
Councilors asked about specific items including the Beacon/Big & Felt demolition (testing and additional soil sampling pending lab results) and the status of a FEMA/MEMA SAFER fire-hiring application. OECD said they expect many FY26 announcements in the coming weeks; grant staff plan to return with project-level updates as awards are finalized.
