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Preston wins $1.58M CIF grant for heritage trail; Board approves TRIP bid waiver and rain garden grant paperwork
Summary
The Board approved a bid waiver to fund engineering designs for a planned TRIP application to repave Roosevelt Avenue Extension, endorsed a $15,000 rain garden grant, and celebrated a $1.58 million CIF award for the Poquetanuck Heritage Trail.
The Preston Board of Selectmen on March 11 approved several grant- and project-related actions intended to advance road repairs, stormwater improvements and a regional trail.
The board approved a bid waiver to contract CLA Engineers Inc. for engineering and project development work needed to support an anticipated Transportation Rural Improvement Program (TRIP) grant of about $800,000 to repair and repave Roosevelt Avenue Extension. TRIP ordinarily requires a 20% local match; minutes state Preston’s PIC and stressed municipality status waive that requirement. Town staff estimated engineering design and project development will cost approximately $23,000; the Public Works Department will request $19,500 from the Board of Finance and use $3,500 from its own budget. The motion to approve the bid waiver referenced the town’s December 2014 bid ordinance and carried unanimously.
On green infrastructure, First Selectwoman Sandra Allyn-Gauthier reported Preston has been awarded a $15,000 Urban Green & Community Garden Grant to install a rain garden and bioswale adjacent to Town Hall and the Public Library; the board approved a resolution authorizing the First Selectwoman to sign grant documents. Ms. Allyn-Gauthier also announced the Community Investment Fund (CIF) had awarded Preston $1.58 million to support the Poquetanuck Heritage Trail and thanked staff and community supporters who helped secure the award.
Why it matters: the TRIP-funded repaving would improve a roadway already included in the town’s Pavement Management Plan; the CIF award is a major capital win for a town-scale trail project, and the rain garden grant will add stormwater mitigation near civic buildings. The engineering work secured by the bid waiver is a prerequisite to submitting the TRIP application and meeting grant deadlines.
Procedural notes: the bid waiver motion was carried unanimously; the UF & CG grant resolution naming the First Selectwoman as signing authority was approved by vote.
