Town board accepts $3.625 million USDA grant for Madison Center project after brief debate

A town board voted to accept a $3,625,000 USDA Rural Development Community Facilities grant for the Madison Center project after discussing grant conditions, timeline risks and public health concerns.

Peggy, who presented the grant materials, said staff only received the full grant packet late on a Friday and that the paperwork requires board acceptance before the application can be finalized. "We received the package of the actual paperwork... and the deadline that we have to submit back is January 27th," Peggy said, noting the award is reimbursement-based and that the federal agreement includes a standard use restriction that could require repayment if the building’s use changes.

The federal grant represents less than 25% of the overall project budget, Peggy said, and the town worked with agency staff to allocate the USDA funds toward non-construction "soft" costs — such as furniture, equipment and consultant fees — to avoid the Build America Buy America construction sourcing rule that can increase costs. "They recommended that the grant money be applied to these costs because it's a smaller portion of the project," Peggy said.

Board members asked whether the town would receive the funds if the overall project budget changed or if a future referendum failed. Staff said the grant is a reimbursement grant: the town must spend in eligible categories and request reimbursement, and pulling funds before approvals would be required. Staff also said the town submitted a project timeline that anticipates completion in 2026 and could revise that timeline with the agency if milestones shift.

Stacy, who reviewed budget line items, said the application detailed soft-cost line items and that, under the original $15.9 million budget, "we did have enough to cover 3.6." Staff also summarized related awards: a state DECD grant of about $4 million and a brownfields assessment grant of roughly $250,000. Together, board members and staff estimated the project’s total cost to be about $23 million, up from earlier estimates.

During public comment, a resident who gave their name and address urged caution and warned of environmental and structural hazards in the existing building, including asbestos and septic concerns. The resident said the town should conduct more engineering and environmental assessments before moving forward, calling the currently proposed approach a potential "can of worms." The board acknowledged the concerns but noted previously authorized inspections and ongoing committee work.

After discussion the board held a roll-call vote. The chair announced the motion carried with four votes in favor; one member was not yet sworn in and could not vote, and one member was absent. The board did not authorize any immediate reimbursement requests; staff said reimbursements would only be sought after required approvals and as eligible costs are incurred.

The town will proceed with accepting the USDA award and moving forward with defined soft-cost items for the Madison Center project; next steps include finalizing paperwork with the agency and tracking project timeline updates required by the grant agreement.