Funds re-allocated
Granby’s portion of the American Plan Rescue Act funds ($3.6 million), a federal stimulus bill passed in March 2021 to help the country recover from the economic and health effects of the COVID pandemic, must be obligated by Dec. 31, 2024.
The town originally set aside $200,000 in the road-repair category, indicating that it was not intended to address more road maintenance, but would instead supplant FY25 funding set aside for road work, preserving that funding for a future period. Three such areas of need have been established, and various amounts from the $200,000 have been allocated.
The Park and Recreation Board has listened to the complaints of many residents concerning the noise emanating from the Salmon Brook Park tennis courts located near their homes. The courts are now used for pickleball, which creates a different sound from the soft thud of a tennis ball. The board, along with the town manager’s office, has agreed to engage an outside firm to help create a master plan for the park that will attempt to alleviate this noise problem and to plan an overall vision for the park in the coming decades. $25,000 was allocated for this use.
The Public Works Department suffered a substantial loss this summer while using its front-end loader and a chain to lift a large concrete drain basin onto a tow-behind trailer. The chain broke, dropping the basin onto the trailer, causing enough damage to render the trailer a total loss. The Town of Simsbury lends us its trailer when possible, but Granby needs a new one. Insurance provided a small amount of compensation, but more is required, so $40,000 has been allocated for this purchase.
Another piece of public works equipment has become unserviceable: the flail mower. This is the mower with the extension arm that reaches over guardrails to cut the vegetation and brush to keep it from encroaching on the road. $20,000 has been allocated for this purchase.
At its meeting on Oct. 21, the board of selectmen approved the re-allocation of $85,000 for the park study, tow-behind trailer and flail mower attachment, noting that the public works items were scheduled in the 10-year capital plan for eventual replacement.
Last of ARPA funds assigned
Town Manager Mike Walsh proposed and the Granby Board of Selectmen approved the allocation of the final $1.6 million to tackle 27 projects, with the final three receiving a total allocation of $100,000. The final three projects receiving these funds are the Wastewater Facilities Plan, the Library Capital Campaign Consultant and the Town Hall Space Recovery Initiative.
In April 2024, a wastewater flow study of the town’s sewer system was completed. In order to more accurately project the limited availability of the flow that the existing system can process, the town needs to assess the methodology of the flow metrics and the useful life of the three sewer pump stations in order to estimate the timing and cost of future capital investment into the system. In order to address possible coming development, this assessment needs to be done soon. $50,000 has been approved to complete this analysis.
A qualified and experienced capital campaign consultant is needed to guide the Granby Public Library in its attempt to raise funds that will allow for the expansion of the library. The town hopes to couple donations, local bonding and state grants to achieve the expansion in the next few years. The consultant will carry out duties assigned by the town; the boards of selectmen and finance will assess the town’s ability to bond for the expansion. $40,000 has been approved for this consultant.
Walsh has identified various ways the existing limited office space within the town hall could be arranged more efficiently. This will require the purchase of pre-built partitions. For example, the Human Resources Office is actually two offices, the rear one being used as a staging area for IT equipment and the forward one being the actual office. As Walsh notes, “In order to get to the back office, you have to travel through the front one, possibly disrupting the work being done there.” The installation of three partitions in the front area will create three smaller offices: the emergency management coordinator, IT, and the social media/grants coordinator. The fire marshall will swap offices with HR and be set up in the rear area where IT is now located. This configuration allows four part-time workers to have their own space and allows HR to have the privacy that office requires. $10,000 was approved for the purchase of the partitions.