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12/02/2020 07:30 AMWestbrook was the beneficiary of a state grant awarded in November under the Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP). The grant will fund construction of sidewalks along Boston Post Road from Bellstone Avenue, near the Mulvey Municipal Center, to the stoplight at the intersection with Grove Beach Road, according to First Selectman Noel Bishop.
Governor Ned Lamont announced in July that he would be reinstating the program, and this was the first time in four years that the state released STEAP funding to small municipalities. Westbrook’s Planning Commission and Eric Knapp, the town’s planning, zoning, and development coordinator, along with engineering firm Nathan L. Jacobson & Associates applied for the funds.
The $128,205 grant will be matched by $166,195 of town funding for engineering, design, and construction of the sidewalks.
The town’s portion of the funding will come out of its capital budget, according to Bishop.
“It’s very good news to us to get that money,” he said, adding that improving sidewalks are a top priority for town residents. Sidewalk improvements will start in the town center and work their out toward Old Saybrook and toward Clinton.
“We had to demonstrate that we’d done a needs assessment, that the community was involved in this, and that we’d identified our highest priorities,” said Bishop.
In July, Lamont announced that the grants were necessary to revitalize towns whose budgets were being negatively affected by the COVID-19 crisis.
As part of the more than $11 million awarded, Lamont implemented “a special COVID-19 provision in this round [to] support towns with expenditures related to their response to the pandemic, including for new construction, expansion, renovation, or replacement for existing facilities,” according to a July press release from the governor’s office.
STEAP grants can only be used for capital projects: new construction, expansion, renovation, or replacement of existing facilities.
Old Saybrook was awarded $128,205 in state funding for new restroom facilities at the town park, to be matched by $17,895 in town funding.
Clinton received a $128,205 STEAP grant for a commercial façade grant program to improve exterior conditions as part of the Clinton Business Improvement Initiative. The town will contribute $26,975 to the project.