The Mattapoisett Capital Planning Committee met on Monday night to continue their work in crafting an updated, 10-year plan, part of which now displays projects and any associated grants. Town Administrator Mike Lorenco shared details on a variety of grants the town has received or is pending approval.
First on the list was a $260,000 Complete Streets Grant from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. The grant has been used to fund upgrades to bike-path intersections, electronic speed signs used for traffic calming and a planned sidewalk at the north end of Pearl Street.
A MassTrails grant in the amount of $120,000 from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation is being used to create a pre-engineering design of bike path Phase 2A. A state grant program for municipalities seeking assistance in upgrading fiber-optic conductivity was granted to Mattapoisett in the amount of $154,043. The Old Slough Road reopening plan applied for and received two grants totaling $614,902, one of those a Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness grant.
The National Estuary Program (NEP) grant in the amount of $35,000 was secured to perform stormwater studies at outfalls located near Ship Street and Ned’s Point Road. The Long Wharf reconstruction project received two grants totaling $216,000 from the Seaport Economic Council, and the same agency has received an application from the town for $120,000 for the development of a Harbor Management Plan.
The U.S. Economic Development Administration awarded Mattapoisett $735,000 for redevelopment of Industrial Drive. A Shared Streets Grant from MassDOT in the sum of $237,849 will be used to construct a sidewalk along a portion of Mattapoisett Neck Road. And last but not least, a Massachusetts Community Compact Grant of $60,000 is funding two studies performed by the UMass Boston Collins Center for the Transfer Station and school-consolidation analysis.
In other business, the committee met with Harbormaster Jamie McIntosh to discuss the department’s FY24 capital needs. Listed in the plan is $45,000 to replace timber pilings, $30,000 for a Harbor Management Plan (the town’s share of a grant application to the Seaport Economic Council), $20,000 for floats and docks and $25,000 for dinghy docks. In discussing the Long Wharf project, Lorenco and McIntosh concurred that construction will not be imminent.
The committee also met with Library Director Jennifer Jones. The library’s list includes $45,000 for new carpeting and $85,000 for historic slate-roof repair and restoration.
The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Capital Planning Committee was not scheduled upon adjournment.
Mattapoisett Capital Planning Committee
By Marilou Newell