The Board of Finance agreed Tuesday night to allow the Rails to Trails Committee to use surplus town funds for short-term funding to pay for work on the construction of the North Brook Trail.
The committee received a permit from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection in March for the trail and immediately went out to bid. It awarded a $774,000 contract to Yield Industries and currently has about $400,000 in a 2023 state grant to begin construction. Work will be confined to phase one of the work until word is received about a second grant to pay the difference between the two sums.
The town must pay the contractor as the work is done and then apply to the state for reimbursement. By lending itself the money, the town will save the interest that would accrue from a bank loan. Work is expected to start in August and Tirrell said he expects the funds to be reimbursed by January.
“I like to avoid debt in the short term if we can,” agreed Finance Chairman Michael Sconyers.