Some not so good news for Templeton
The state has just released information pertaining to the FY2015 CDBG application. This is the community development block grant that was used to rebuild the back bay area of Templeton. The town's community wide needs score which is used to determine the relative need in a community for assistance has dropped so far that Templeton has fallen out of the main funding pool which has about 17 million in it and now Templeton sits in a pool with only about 2.5 million in it. Templeton now is in the same pool with about 75% of the rest of the towns in the state.
According to Mike Pingpank, Hubbardston is ineligible for funding this year since they were funded with Templeton last year, FY2014. Also in this pool, the town is only eligible every other year. Templeton needs Hubbardston as a co-applicant to get the bonus points to be competitive.
Mike Pingpank has recommended the town skip this year as the application takes about 150 hours to complete and costs the town about $9000.00. Mike has suggested the town find funds to get part of a project designed in the next year by using chapter 90 (road funds) or in-kind design from the water department since a lot of water main replacement was done using the CDBG monies. Too bad the town used some chapter monies to buy a loader with. I am not sure of available money that Templeton water has but I feel it may not be there after reading some posted minutes from a recent water meeting. Hopefully this subject will find its way to a selectmen meeting soon.
Jeff Bennett
Thank you for posting this notice. This message from Mike Pingpank slipped through the cracks this week.
ReplyDeleteTwo funerals and a very long Monday night meeting will do that.
I think Mike's advice to wait out the grant for a year is a sound one. I'm sure this topic will be on the next BOS agenda. The BOS will have to get the Chapter 90 numbers from the highway superintendent. I don't like purchasing highway equipment from Chapter 90 money, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do.
Without the equipment Bud and the highway crew would not have been able to complete the 11 roads in town. The highway department has done an outstanding job amid very adverse circumstances.
I also am skeptical that the water department has any money to finance project design for East Templeton. Let's hope the federal CDBG money doesn't dry up. Actually, I thought the CDBG money would have dried up sooner.
More bad news is the reported departure of Bethany Loveless as COA director in Templeton
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