East Templeton!!! This is for YOU!!!

Town looks to improve infrastructure with CDBG money

Eryn Dion
News Staff Writer

TEMPLETON — The Board of Selectmen voted Monday to designate the village of East Templeton as a ‘target area’ in the town’s 2014 Community Development Block Grant application, putting it next on the list for an infrastructure facelift.

“There are plenty of opportunities for major work in East Templeton,” explained Peter Sanborn, President of Community Opportunities Group, a company out of Boston that helps towns plan and develop improvement projects.

The company has an established relationship with the Templeton and has helped them through the CDBG process in previous years.

Town Coordinator Jeff Ritter agreed with Mr. Sanborn’s recommendation, saying there are many individual problem areas in the village that would benefit greatly from the grant money.


“There are lots of pieces that are floating around, ready to be put together into a single master plan for East Templeton,” Mr. Ritter commented.

Funds from the grant will be put towards the creation of an infrastructure “master plan” for the village, which will asses the area’s current infrastructure, such as roads, sewage lines, and sidewalks, and provide a course of action for improvement. 

Because of the size and scale of the project, the process will be split into phases, much like the Back Bay improvement project, with the master plan forming phase one. This will serve the dual purpose of making the project more manageable and giving the town a competitive edge.

“The state likes to see a town carry out a sustained effort,” said Mr. Sanborn.

Mr. Sanborn commended the town’s dedication to the Back Bay improvement project through all it’s phases, saying it showed a willingness to commit to and follow through with future proposals.

“The town showed a long term commitment and tenacity towards getting that done,” he said. “That should be a major feather in the town’s cap.”

Looking ahead, Templeton’s previous success with the CDBG program will prove both a blessing and a curse.

While the state will take into consideration their completion of the Back Bay project, towns are now limited to a maximum of $1.35 million in funding over a two year time period.

Since the town was awarded nearly $538,000 last year, they will only be eligible for about $811,000 this year.

“So we get punished for being good?” asked Chairman Jeffrey Bennett.

To maximize the amount of funds they can receive, Mr. Sanborn suggested to the board that the town submit a joint application with nearby Hubbardston.

The maximum amount a single community can apply for is $900,000, but a regional application can net up to $1 million.

“We’re recommending Hubbardston join with the town of Templeton,” Mr. Sanborn explained to the board. “By them joining, it will give you a slight competitive advantage.”

Because of state restrictions, Hubbardston can only apply for the grant every two years.

They joined with Templeton in 2012 and the $950,000 award from that year went towards the creation of the Baldwinville-Hubbardstron Housing Rehabilitation Pro-gram.

While the town will start to shift focus towards East Templeton, Mr. Sanborn recommended the Baldwinville program continue at least for another year due to “significant waiting lists” of residents still requiring assistance.

Hubbardston plans to use any funds awarded this year to create a Community Development Needs Assessment and Action Plan, to help officials study gaps in resources available to residents and the housing, as well as the social service needs of the town as a whole.

This week, the Templeton board unanimously approved a priority list submitted by Mr. Sanborn, identifying the town’s development strategy for the coming years.

The list is required to be submitted one month prior to the CDBG applications due in February.

It places water service, sewer infrastructure, surface infrastructure, a municipal office complex, and a new elementary school at a high priority to be addressed in the next three years, but interestingly bumps the development of a new police station down to medium priority for sometime in the next two to five years.

Surveys were recently sent to residents of East Templeton by Mr. Sanborn’s company in an attempt to gather information about the community’s needs.

In addition to the surveys, he indicated that letters of support for the project will also help the town during the review process.

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There were surveys sent out to approximately 300 residents in East Templeton. Not everyone received the same type of survey. In order for this grant application to move forward, people need to return the surveys. Letter of support are helpful as well.