Montague, Gill and Erving have a lot to look forward to in the coming year. There is plenty of planning, grant applications, construction, demolition and repair projects happening in the three towns. One of the most exciting, according to officials there, is the construction of the Erving town library.
The district will be making repairs to the Fifth Street Bridge over the upper canal starting on Monday, Jan. 7. It is estimated the work will be completed by the end of January, weather permitting.
The Contractor, MIG Corporation, will close the bridge starting that Monday, and it will remain closed until bridge deck and rail repairs are completed across the bridge. It should be noted that the “White Bridge,” via Turners Falls Road over the Connecticut River will remain open up to the Fifth Street Bridge for local access only.
The Strathmore Mill Demolition Design Project is underway. Using a $25,000 from the town and $115,000 of federal community development funds through a partnership with Franklin County Regional Housing and Redevelopment Authority, the town contracted Tighe and Bond to design and prepare bid-ready plans and specifications for the demolition of the building, according to Town Planner Walter Ramsey. The demolition design will be completed prior to June 30.
In October 2018, the town was approved by the Franklin County Superior court to enter the mill and take any and all actions necessary to keep the building secure, as well as place a lien on the property. The water distribution and fire system at the mill complex were shut off on Nov. 19. A hearing has not yet been scheduled.
This project entails fixing the lights, concrete retaining walls, fence, planters and electrical boxes in the 500-square-foot pocket park on Avenue A. The statue of the spinner, which will also be refurbished, will be moved to the back of the park to create more open space.
“We are completing design-ready specifications currently, and will file the CDBG grant application this March,” Town Administrator Steven Ellis said. “The Spinner Park design being completed this winter is an ADA-compliant design.”
Ellis added that the town hopes to receive the grant late next summer and begin its procurement process late in 2019 with construction in 2020.
Rutter’s Park work should begin this spring and be completed in 2019. Ellis said the Rutter’s Park project has been years in the making, and the funds from the award are continuing previous design work funded through Community Development Block Grant awards.
“(The project) will greatly enhance recreational opportunities for residents and visitors in the village of Lake Pleasant,” Ellis said.
Proposed improvements to Rutter Park, between Montague Avenue and Broadway, will include a 20-by-28-foot pavilion, a rain garden, a playground with modern structures, picnic tables, a flagpole, open space and off-street parking space, according to Ellis. The park will be fully accessible according to ADA specifications.
The Public Works Facility project is a proposed 25,500-square-foot building on municipal property adjacent to the town’s public safety complex, in an undeveloped wooded lot.
In May 2018, the town approved a debt exclusion to fund the project, not to exceed $11.2 million, according to Mark Fairbrother, a committee member and chairman of the Montague Conservation Commission. The new DPW will be fully accessible and construction is expected to start in summer 2019.
The new 8,000-square-foot library construction will begin in March or April, and the town is hopeful that the construction will continue through the fall, and be open for 2020, according to Town Administrator Bryan Smith.
There will be a feasibility study to look at the current use of the building and ways to improve efficiencies and ADA compliance to improve the building’s access for public meetings, because as it currently stands, there is not enough room to host joint board meetings.
Students from the Conway School graduate program will be looking at planning and landscape of Erving Center during early 2019.
“They’re going to be looking at reimagining Erving Center, looking at flood zones, zoning needs, infrastructure and town-owned land,” Smith said. “Then they’re going to come up with recommendations that they’ll present to the Selectboard and residents.
A replacement of a roughly three-quarter-mile-long 50-year-old pipe from around Riverside Park to the wastewater treatment plant will occur next year. The project will cost $1.57 million and will go out to bid in 2019. The project will begin in late summer.
The sidewalk from Millers Falls in front of the Erving Elementary School to the Senior Center will be repaired to be ADA compliant. At the same time, there will also be an extension of the sewer main, as well as complete resurfacing and ADA updates by the River, Warner and Stratchan streets neighborhood using Chapter 90 funds. The water and sewer lines will also be checked while the project is underway.
The town kicks off 2019 in song, with a community sing from 2 to 3 p.m. at the Town Hall on New Year’ s Day. Town Administrator Ray Purington said many of the plans in 2019 are continuations from this year, wrapping up projects started or funded in 2018 and continuing into 2019.
Purchase used pumper/tanker fire truck using Northfield Mount Hermon School donation
This year, Northfield Mount Hermon School donated $300,000 to be used to replace vehicles for the fire department. One truck was purchased for $150,000. In 2019, the town aims to replace a roughly 40-year-old pumper/tanker truck. However, there is no clear timeline, because the town is looking for a used truck, so it depends on when the Fire Chief finds the right vehicle for the town.
There has been a foundation leak for more than 10 years, “in small shop vac quantities,” but it’s not getting better. Most of the water is located in the assessor’s office. The plan in 2019, once the frost is out, is to relocate the assessor’s office and do structural testing to identify what the problem is and where the water is coming from.
There will be a test excavation, consult with an engineer, the town will get estimates and then figure out how to fund the work. In the 2020 fiscal year and beyond, the town will figure out when to address the issue.
Grant-funded energy conservation projects at Slate Memorial Library, Town Hall and the Riverside building will happen next year.
Gill received $68,465 in grants through the Department of Energy Resources’s Green Communities program in 2018. The library’s improvements started the same year, with work on insulation, lighting and heating. In January and February, the library will be completed, then the other projects will be done throughout the year. Those include insulating Town Hall and installing interior storm windows in the Riverside building.
In the winter or spring of 2019, commercial vinyl tile will be installed in the police and fire departments. That will be paid for with $16,000 voters approved at the annual Town Meeting in 2018.
Then in the spring or summer, the building housing the Fire, Police and Highway Department will be paved. This was also funded at Town Meeting at $32,000.
The town also hopes to continue the community building activities and fun from the 225th anniversary celebration. Many of the popular events from 2018 will return, including the New Year’s Day Community sing, contra dances, puzzle swaps, community skates, the Gillbilly paddle and the town picnic.