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Selectmen authorize $250,000 regional fiber grant application as 911 project shows $13,000 shortfall
Summary
Tolland selectmen unanimously authorized Town Administrator Matt Ripley to apply for a $250,000-per-town fiber grant for Tolland and Granville; Ripley told the board the town faces a $13,000 shortfall on a 911 communications project after site and grounding work and additional mount engineering were added.
The Tolland Board of Selectmen unanimously authorized Town official Matt Ripley to apply, on behalf of Tolland and Granville, for a regional fiber grant that would provide $250,000 to each town if awarded. The board voted to approve the application after Ripley outlined the grant terms and the town's matching obligation.
Ripley told the selectmen the grant would require a 5% local match for Tolland, equal to $12,500. He said the authorization motion, made by Selectman Steven DellaGiustina and seconded by Selectman Patrick Barrett, passed by unanimous vote. The board recorded the motion as an authorization to apply rather than an award of funds.
The vote followed Ripley's report that the town currently faces a $13,000 shortfall on its 911 communications project. According to Ripley, original cost projections omitted site work and grounding at the tower on Colebrook River Road; additional mounts were specified by Norcom and the SBA requested engagement of an engineering firm, all of which increased costs. The selectmen noted that the tower lease timing, with execution due in April, contributes to a projected FY26 budget deficit.
The authorization clears the way for the application to be submitted on behalf of both towns; the minutes do not record any discussion of alternative funding sources or a final funding plan should the grant be denied. The next procedural step recorded in the minutes is the submission of the grant application on Tolland's behalf.
