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Surry to vote on Comprehensive Plan April 11 as board readies federal grant resubmissions
Summary
The Select Board placed a 10-year Comprehensive Plan on the April 11 municipal ballot and discussed resubmitting three federal grant proposals by an April 24 deadline; the board said a new engineering contract aims to produce a shovel-ready project to strengthen funding chances for 2026.
Mary Allen, chair of the Town of Surry Select Board, said the town will put a Comprehensive Plan before voters on April 11 and described the document as a 10-year guide that reflects residents’ priorities.
Allen said the Select Board met with grant consultant Allen Kratz, who has been in contact with the congressional delegation, including Senator Susan Collins, Senator Angus King and Representative Jared Golden, about three proposals the town submitted last year that were not funded. The board said it has until April 24 to resubmit corrected or augmented proposals for consideration for possible funding in 2026.
Chris Stark told the board that congressional staff advised retracting applications that are not “shovel ready” and resubmitting them in 2026. Mary Allen said the town has engaged the engineering firm Sevee & Maher and expects the firm to produce a shovel-ready project by April 2026, or possibly sooner, to improve the town’s eligibility with appropriations committees.
The board noted a public hearing was held March 27 on two referendum questions that will appear on the municipal ballot: the Comprehensive Plan and a separate GSA referendum article. Board members said the outcome of the April 11 vote will be added to grant applications as they are revised before the April 24 resubmission window.
Why it matters: federal appropriations and many grant programs prioritize projects that are fully designed or shovel ready and that are supported by local planning documents. The Select Board described the Comprehensive Plan and the new engineering work as steps to make Surry’s proposals more competitive.
Next steps: The Select Board will monitor the April 11 referendum outcome and, if the town adopts the Comprehensive Plan, staff will incorporate that result into the grant application updates planned ahead of the April 24 deadline.
