Federal funds will pay for new village curbs

SALISBURY — At a special selectmen’s meeting Wednesday, Oct. 21, engineer Jim Ford explained preliminary plans for new curbs in the village of Salisbury.

First Selectman Curtis Rand gave some background on the project, which builds on the 2004 plan that replaced sidewalks in Lakeville. That original curbing plan (which was to have been funded by a state grant) was dropped for lack of funds.

The current plan for the new curbs will be paid for with funds from the federal stimulus bill, or American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, passed by Congress in February.

The Northwestern Connecticut Council of Governments was promised $1.1 million for “shovel-ready� projects, Rand said. “That means projects with state right-of-ways established and with plans ready to go.�

Salisbury’s original per capita share of the $1.1 million was $244,000. But since the towns of Sharon and Washington dropped out, Salisbury will receive as much as $396,000.

So, said Rand, the town can figure on spending about $363,000 in federal funds for the curbing. (Rand said the state Department of Transportation will take about $30,000 for administrative purposes.)

The town is able to proceed in a timely manner, Rand added, because the preliminary plan was taken directly from the 2004 project (also designed by Ford).

Ford said the preliminary plan includes new sidewalks along the DOT’s right-of-way from Town Hall, to a point just beyond the Ragamont on Main Street; new granite curbing along each side of Main Street; and elimination of the black, bituminous sidewalks directly adjacent to the curbing, which will be replaced by grass.

Also in the plan is lighting at the crosswalks and a wider sidewalk at the entrance to St. John’s Church, to allow for better handicapped access.

The plan assumes that the town will reconstruct the sidewalks in the village that are on private property, such as those in front of the pharmacy and post office.

The selectmen and citizens at the meeting agreed that the best place to utilize the additional money would be the sidewalks in front of Town Hall, which are in rough shape.

The final plan must be in place before Feb. 1, 2010. Construction is planned for the spring of 2010.