The Select Board voted 3–1 to accept a $30,000 FY2025 economic-development earmark from the state for the Blake/Pierce Streetscape Improvement Project and to authorize the planning director to expend the funds.

Planning staff said the state grant must be expended by June 30, 2025, creating a tight timeline. The town also has ARPA-funded design money for Blake-Pierce work; staff proposed reallocating $30,000 of ARPA-design funds to contract construction oversight, which the town will need if the streetscape proceeds to construction. That reallocation would preserve ARPA design funds where possible and match the state earmark to oversight tasks that have a later expenditure deadline.

Select Board members asked whether shifting ARPA funds to construction oversight would be consistent with federal ARPA rules and whether the town’s appropriation committees had been consulted. Town finance staff said the reallocation was within the scope of engineering and design services already authorized and that it would be consistent with the way ARPA funds had been allocated earlier; they also said the town would continue pursuing external grants (e.g., Complete Streets, other design/construction grants) to reduce any borrowing need. Finance and Appropriations committee representatives had expressed concerns about short deadlines for the state earmark but did not block acceptance.

At the vote, three members supported accepting the funding and one opposed; the board directed the planning director to manage the funds and seek grant matches where possible.