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05/31/2012 12:00 AMGrant Need Not Proven
The town had planned to apply for a competitive Small Cities grant to support housing rehabilitation projects for low- and moderate-income property owners, but too few letters from homeowners have been received in the selectmen's office to justify submitting the grant application.
"Our grant consultant, Larry Wagner, said we would need at least 15 letters from residents confirming the need for the housing rehabilitation program. We only received five letters," said Suzanne Helchowski, the administrative assistant to the first selectman.
"It's a very competitive grant so you don't want the town to get the grant and not be able to use it. So it's Larry Wagner's recommendation to not apply at this time," said Helchowski.
Helchowski suggested one reason the town may not have received letters of need from town residents may be that many in Westbrook who might need the financial help to rehabilitate their home may not own it or may be uncomfortable sharing their financial situation.
The grant application with its supporting letters of need for the housing rehabilitation funds would have been due at the beginning of June.
Boiler Vendor Approved
The Board of Selectmen voted
May 14 to accept the recommendation of the town's boiler committee to award a contract to Barry Associates to replace the Westbrook High School boiler and the middle school boiler's burner. The approval of the contract was not to exceed $300,000, the amount already approved by the Town Meeting.
Lesley Wysocki, the schools' business manager, said the demolition of the old boilers would begin the last weekend of June. The boilers are expected to be installed and operational by Aug. 17, just before the school year begins.
The town has learned from the Southern Connecticut Gas Company that it will be eligible to receive a $7,500 rebate for installing the new, more-efficient gas boilers at the schools.
Tennis Court Repairs
Also approved at the Board of Selectmen's meeting was a contract with Dalton Track and Tennis for $19,775 to repair the eight tennis courts at the high school/middle school campus. The work includes power-washing the courts, applying patch binder, filling the structural cracks, and re-lining the courts.
The eight tennis courts would be unavailable during the resurfacing work for about five days.
Shredder Truck Coming
The Board of Selectmen recently approved allocating $600 to support a financial papers shredding event on Saturday, June 30 from 9 a.m. until noon. The exact location for the town shredding event was not yet confirmed by press time although First Selectman Noel Bishop said at the selectmen's meeting it would likely be at the Westbrook High School/Middle School campus. Shred Source of Guilford was contracted to provide the shredding truck service.
Proof of town residence will be required for individuals interested in delivering papers to the shredding truck that day.