Thursday evening the Rails to Trails Committee pondered how to proceed with construction of the North Brook Trail now that it has awarded a $774,406 contract to Yield Industries.
The difficulty lies in Yield President Craig Bothroyd’s desire to begin working in August, and the state’s tardiness in announcing whether the town will receive a second grant for the work.
The town received a $399,000 state grant in 2023, but that project was delayed by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, which decided that the permit application should come from the state and not the town. The town finally received its general permit in March.
But in the three years that had elapsed, prices had increased and busy beavers had raised the water level so much the boardwalk had to be raised and extended by 100 feet. The committee is seeking an additional state grant of $226,000 to meet increased costs but has yet to hear whether its application has been successful.
Rails to Trails Chairman Robert Gilchrest told committee members that he met with Bothroyd to discuss construction and the current financial shortfall. He said Bothroyd had crunched the numbers and believed that the $399,000 grant would allow construction of the parking lot near Center Cemetery, the trail up to the boardwalk, the boardwalk itself,and clearing a path after that point.
What would be left would be construction of the trail as far as Ashpohtag Road, a concrete crossing for a driveway and gates that would prevent motorized vehicle access to the trail except for state or emergency vehicles.
The state grant would fund 80 percent of the work in the first phase with the town providing 20 percent. Gilchrest originally thought the town could meet the 20 percent obligation through in-kind services and committee secretary Matt Riiska suggested that materials removed by the road crew during road work could be used as fill to help meet this obligation.
But Gilchrest said the contractor is responsible should any portion of the project fail and Bothroyd is reluctant to use sub-par materials. He suggested a fundraising campaign to fill in the financing gap.
While the town waits for word from the state about the second grant, money will have to be borrowed to pay Yield. A town meeting may be called in late July to authorize a line of credit to pay the contractor before state funds are reimbursed.