Towns look to tap into new round of grant funding

The town of Kent has applied for a STEAP grant to convert the Swift House into social service offices and the food bank.
Ruth Epstein
The town of Kent has applied for a STEAP grant to convert the Swift House into social service offices and the food bank.
It’s a never-ending goal for selectmen: find ways to increase revenue for their towns. One helpful source for many towns across the state, including those in the Northwest Corner, is the Small Town Economic Assistance Program, commonly know as a STEAP grant.
Martin Heft, who works with those grants at the state’s Office of Policy and Management, explained that these are funds available to towns that are ineligible to receive Urban Action bonds. They may be used for economic development, community conservation and quality-of-life projects. They must be for capital expenditures, which are those considered to be new construction, expansion, renovation or replacement for an existing facility or facilities.
This year $30 million has been allotted for the STEAP grants. The most a town can receive each fiscal year is $1 million. Award amounts will be based on the number of participating municipalities and the number of qualified applications. A 20% municipal match is preferred, but not required. Notification of award winners is expected to take place on April 3.
Once a town is granted the funds, an authorizing referendum vote and/or resolution by the local legislative body needs to be called by the Board of Selectmen in order to authorize the chief elected official to accept such a grant and enter into all contracts and agreements. If an award is approved, the town will be notified which state agency will be assigned to administer it. All grant payments will be made on a reimbursement basis.
Heft noted these are not annual grants, but are dependent on available funds and the governor’s approval.
According to information from OPM, “Any municipality that fails to adopt a plan of conservation and development at least once every 10 years shall be ineligible for discretionary state funding in excess of $25,000,” unless a special waiver is received.
Region One towns have submitted grant requests for a wide variety of projects.
In Sharon, the money is being sought to help correct a long-standing problem. First Selectman Casey Flanagan said the town is asking for $1 million to repair River Road, which has been reduced to one lane for about two years due to cracks in the pavement. “Water is seeping underneath and undermining the roadway,” he said. “Heavy rains are causing water to come down and wash away fine materials. We’ve been working with Cardinal Engineering to fix it. It’s not good. If the road washes away, it could trap those in houses beyond that area.”
Kent First Selectman Martin Lindenmayer said his town is looking for $1 million to renovate the Swift House on Maple Street (Route 341 East), which dates back to the 1700s, in order to relocate the social services office and town food bank to that site. “This will give us an opportunity to have the food bank open more,” he said. There are plans to put another room onto the building. A center room will be used for a common area. He said the food bank’s refrigerators and freezers can be housed there, since the floors have been determined to have adequate weight-bearing features.
In Falls Village, First Selectman David Barger said the town hopes to get a grant of $977,507 for several projects. These include making improvements to the salt shed and water-oil separator at the town garage, a new trash compactor at the transfer station, as well as a more secure (bear-proof) area at the site, some renovations to the Senior Center, repairs to the Town Hall roof, tree removal, upgrades at the recreation center and money toward replacing two town trucks. He gave high praise to the newly formed grant committee that helped in devising the list.
STEAP grants in Cornwall will go toward façade improvements for buildings owned by businesses or nonprofits, said First Selectman Gordon M. Ridgway. “We’ve done this before in three other cycles and it’s really been a big help,” he said. “It’s key to building the local economy, giving jobs to contractors and supporting lumberyards” The upgrades can be to increase energy efficiency, improve landscapes, parking lots and plantings, as well as painting. He said a prominent barn in town will be painted if the grant comes through. Cornwall is asking for $475,000.
Recreational projects are the focus of the STEAP grant application for $350,000 in Salisbury. First Selectman Curtis G. Rand said the bulk of the work is for upgrades at the Town Grove, such as the kiddy swimming dock and padding under the playground. Improvements will also be made to the all-purpose court on Salmon Kill Road if the grant is awarded.
North Canaan did not submit a STEAP grant application this year. Paul Mattingly, the selectmen’s executive assistant, wrote he and First Selectman Brian Ohler “are still gathering the necessary information for numerous road/bridge projects, as well as the pending needs for our local transfer station. North Elm Street, Sand Road, West Main Street and Old Turnpike South are all in need of engineering assessments, which will allow us to then compile the data needed to support our future STEAP grant applications. Each road’s surface is deplorable, and in some areas, a harboring pool for excess water and stormwater runoff. Increased truck traffic has not been kind to these particular roads. The scope of work will include all new excavations and drainage, along with a new road surface which will be rebuilt from the subsurface on up.”
LAKEVILLE — Barbara Meyers DelPrete, 84, passed away Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, at her home. She was the beloved wife of George R. DelPrete for 62 years.
Mrs. DelPrete was born in Burlington, Iowa, on May 31, 1941, daughter of the late George and Judy Meyers. She lived in California for a time and had been a Lakeville resident for the past 55 years.
Survivors, in addition to her husband, George, include son, George R. DelPrete II, daughter, Jena DelPrete Allee, and son Stephen P. DelPrete. Grandchildren; Trey, Cassidy, and Meredith DelPrete, Jack, Will and Finn Allee, and Ali and Nicholas DelPrete.
A Funeral Mass was held at St. Mary’s Church, Lakeville, on Saturday, Oct. 4. May she Rest in Peace.
Ryan Funeral Home, 255 Main St., Lakeville, is in care of arrangements.
To offer an online condolence, please visit ryanfhct.com
SHARON — Shirley Anne Wilbur Perotti, daughter of George and Mabel (Johnson) Wilbur, the first girl born into the Wilbur family in 65 years, passed away on Oct. 5, 2025, at Noble Horizons.
Shirley was born on Aug. 19, 1948 at Sharon Hospital.
She was raised on her parents’ poultry farm (Odge’s Eggs, Inc.).
After graduating from Housatonic Valley Regional High School, she worked at Litchfield County National Bank and Colonial Bank.
She married the love of her life, John, on Aug. 16, 1969, and they lived on Sharon Mountain for more than 50 years.
Shirley enjoyed creating the annual family Christmas card, which was a coveted keepsake.She also enjoyed having lunch once a month with her best friends, Betty Kowalski, Kathy Ducillo, and Paula Weir.
In addition to John, she is survived by her three children and their families; Sarah Medeiros, her husband, Geoff, and their sons, Nick and Andrew, of Longmeadow, Massachusetts, Shelby Diorio, her husband, Mike, and their daughters, Addie, Lainey and Lyla, of East Canaan, Connecticut,Jeffrey Perotti, his wife, Melissa, and their daughters, Annie, Lucy and Winnie, of East Canaan. Shirley also leaves her two brothers, Edward Wilbur and his wife Joan, and David Wilbur; two nieces, three nephews, and several cousins.
At Shirley’s request, services will be private.
Donations in her memory may be made to the Sharon Woman’s Club Scholarship Fund, PO Box 283, Sharon, CT 06069.
The Kenny Funeral Home has care of arrangements.
MILLERTON — Veronica Lee “Ronnie” Silvernale, 78, a lifelong area resident died Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, at Sharon Hospital in Sharon, Connecticut. Mrs. Silvernale had a long career at Noble Horizons in Salisbury, where she served as a respected team leader in housekeeping and laundry services for over eighteen years. She retired in 2012.
Born Oct. 19, 1946, at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, she was the daughter of the late Bradley C. and Sophie (Debrew) Hosier, Sr. Following her graduation from high school and attending college, she married Jack Gerard Silvernale on June 15, 1983 in Millerton, New York. Their marriage lasted thirty-five years until Jack’s passing on July 28, 2018.
Ronnie is survived by her daughter, Jaime Silvernale (Wm. MacDaniel, Sr.) of Millerton, her beloved grandson, Wm. MacDaniel, Jr.; two special nieces, Shannon and Rebecca and a special nephew Sean Hosier. In addition to her parents and husband, she was predeceased by her brother, Bradley C. Hosier, Jr. and her dear friend Ruth Fullerton of Millerton.
Visitation was private. A celebration of Ronnie’s life will be held in the future. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Scott D. Conklin Funeral Home, 37 Park Avenue, Millerton, NY 12546. To send an online condolence to the family or to plant a tree in Ronnie’s memory, please visit www.conklinfuneralhome.com
Christine Gevert, Crescendo’s artistic director, is delighted to announce the start of this musical organization’s 22nd year of operation. The group’s first concert of the season will feature Latin American early chamber music, performed Oct. 18 and 19, on indigenous Andean instruments as well as the virginal, flute, viola and percussion. Gevert will perform at the keyboard, joined by Chilean musicians Gonzalo Cortes and Carlos Boltes on wind and stringed instruments.
This concert, the first in a series of nine, will be held on Oct. 18 at Saint James Place in Great Barrington, and Oct. 19 at Trinity Church in Lakeville.
For those unfamiliar with Crescendo, the award-winning organization was founded in 2003 and brings lesser-known works from the Renaissance and Baroque periods — along with contemporary fusion pieces — to new life. Its performances often blend classical composition with nontraditional instrumentation for a refreshing new take on an established body of work.
Gevert, who is German, Chilean and American, is a conductor, keyboardist and musical scholar. As the multi-national, multi-lingual (German, Spanish and English) creative director, she is a veritable whirlwind of talent, professionalism and inspiration who conceives of new musical treats for her audiences. She also hires and nourishes local talent, sources internationally known vocal and instrumental professionals, and provides her audiences with well-researched program notes for each concert, packaged in lush, full-color programs that resemble illuminated manuscripts.
“It is the excitement about and dedication to the music, along with the prerequisite vocal and instrumental talent, that characterizes a Crescendo member,” said Gevert. “I don’t care about things like how old or young you are or where you’re from — it’s all about bringing these performers together to provide unforgettable musical experiences for its audiences.”
“Traditional audiences for classical music performances tend to skew older,” Gevert continued. “For that reason, I’ve embarked on an effort to reach younger listeners, and have done things like taken a Crescendo choral group to perform at Housatonic Regional High School. I’ve also launched an effort to recruit and train young singers in Baroque singing techniques so they can perform with our existing choral group.”
The upcoming 2025-26 season includes, among other performances, a solo recital and benefit concert on Nov. 22 by the international Baroque opera star and countertenor Nicholas Tamagna. The curated program will include works by Handel, Vivaldi, and Monteverdi.
Two dazzling Christmas concerts follow: on Dec. 6 and 7, Crescendo presents J.S. Bach’s “Sweet Comfort” cantata and Mass in G minor, featuring the full chorus and soloists with a period instrument orchestra. On Dec. 21, the annual Holiday Concert will be presented: “A Tapestry of Traditions: Unraveling the History of Christmas Carols,” with the entire Crescendo vocal ensemble and Gevert on organ.
For the full schedule, concerts details and ticket information, visit: www.crescendomusic.org