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Date: 10/11/2023
WARREN — The Warren Select Board formally accepted a $400,000 grant earmarked for significant infrastructure improvements, a development essential for the town’s progress.
The funds come from the Healy Administration and the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission.
The grant, awarded through the Rural and Small-Town Development Fund, aids communities like Warren with limited populations.
The funds are targeted at improvements to the town’s aging infrastructure. Specifically, Warren plans to rejuvenate the Otis Road neighborhood, focusing on replacing aging water and sewer lines and advancing road infrastructure.
Town Administrator James Ferrera thanked the Healy-Driscoll Administration for the award and the CMRPC’s role in the award. “This is a huge win for Warren,” he said.
Pipes in the Otis Road neighborhood are between 30 to 50 years old. The aging framework has led to problems like subpar water pressure and heightened the risk of more severe complications during colder months.
“There’s the possibility of having a catastrophic problem in the winter months with weak pipes, leading to breaks and increased costs for the town,” Ferrera added.
However, the grant only represents part of Warren’s recent infrastructure funding. The town received a similar award from the Baker-Polito Administration in the preceding year, primarily for road projects.
By leveraging the funds with community block grant money, Warren plans to expedite infrastructure enhancements, particularly around School and Prospect Streets.
Ferrera was optimistic about the project’s outlook. “This would essentially complete the entire neighborhood project we had planned for this area,” he said.
He also highlighted the project timeline, indicating that the current year’s grant work should conclude by early spring, with the new funding deployed shortly afterward.
He estimated $2 million in total investment for broader neighborhood projects, pieced together from various grants and funds, including the current $400,000 award.
Ferrera noted the unique challenges rural communities like Warren face. With a limited tax base and a large portion of its population (55% or below) classified as low to moderate income, such grants are crucial. “The taxpayers just couldn’t continue to afford to make these investments,” Ferrera added.
The Rural and Small-Town Development Fund assists communities with populations under 7,000 or a density of fewer than 500 individuals per square mile.
The grant selection process is competitive, with projects aligning with housing, transportation, infrastructure, economic growth, and community development often receiving preference.
The criteria set by the Commonwealth’s Rural Policy Advisory Commission also play a pivotal role in the allocation.
Select Board Chair David Dufresne underscored the necessity of such grants for rural communities like Warren. “We really couldn’t do a lot of the stuff we do if we weren’t getting these grants and getting this money,” he said.
Dufresne praised the collective effort of town officials and the CMRPC in securing the $400,000 ward. Ferrera serves as Warren’s delegate on the commission.
The town’s financial reality came into focus, with residents anxious about the state of local roads. “We don’t have the tax revenue to be doing a lot of this. People are concerned about our roads and how they get fixed. Well, this is how they get fixed,” Dufresne said.
Warren is poised to make long-overdue improvements, ensuring safer and more reliable infrastructure for its residents.