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MassTrails funding shortfall reduces town trail budget; committee to consider in-kind match
Summary
Town committee heard that ARPA funds originally earmarked for trails did not transfer as expected, leaving roughly $2,700 available; members discussed using town man‑hours as match for MassTrails proposals and reprioritizing projects.
Committee member Rick told the group that ARPA funds intended to support trail sign and trail‑hardening work did not get applied as expected, reducing the town’s available cash toward MassTrails‑related projects. "We're not going to have $4,600 to work with. We're going to have something like $2,700," Rick reported.
Members discussed options to make projects viable despite the shortfall: use the remaining $2,700 as partial funding and count town labor (in‑kind man‑hours) toward the required local match for the MassTrails grant program, or seek additional funds from other local sources. They noted some trail upgrades (e.g., hardening a scout trail) would cost more than the available cash and would require either added cash, larger grants, or increased volunteer/man‑hour commitments.
The committee agreed to identify priorities and come to a future meeting with ideas for how to allocate the remaining funds and to estimate the man‑hours that could be counted as the local match. No formal vote or reallocation decision was recorded; the committee deferred specifics until follow‑up work is done.
