Sharon town meeting establishes bridge fund

SHARON — Sharon residents and officials voted unanimously to approve a new bridge and road construction fund at a town meeting on Jan. 9. The fund will be initially financed with $500,000 from the town’s Undesignated Fund.

First Selectman Casey Flanagan and Board of Finance Chair Thomas Bartram, who fielded questions at the meeting, both described the principal funding as “seed money.” Bartram explained that future capital may come from general levied taxes, state and federal grants, or “potentially floating a bond.”

“This is the first conversation to break it to the community that we’re serious about fixing these things,” Flanagan said, noting that the actual costs of bridge and road maintenance will be “considerably more” than is currently available in the Undesignated Fund.

The newly established fund will be dedicated to repairing and strengthening the water crossings in town between six and 20 feet in length. Bridges over 20 feet are federally controlled, while crossings under six feet are “an unknown,” admitted Flanagan, though he maintained that most of that size may be addressed “in house” without the support of the fund.

Questions from the floor primarily focused on the increased frequency of extreme weather due to climate change, and how the fund may protect Sharon’s infrastructure against future damages from strong storms.

Flanagan said the firm working with the town, Cardinal Engineering, has extreme weather concerns at the forefront of its methodology.

“We need to be building for climate resiliency,” said Flanagan.