STERLING – The downtown renovation project has been around for so long that Town Administrator Bill Caldwell felt it was necessary to update the Select Board and the public on where it stands.
At the Oct. 12 Select Board meeting, Caldwell said that while Weston and Sampson was awarded a contract in February to engineer some of the sidewalk and street upgrades near the park, at a kickoff meeting May 18, the conversation turned to drainage and the water main.
No one wants to do work, like burying utilities and repaving, and then have to dig it up to make other needed work.
So officials have applied for a grant through MassWorks to help pay for engineering to replace the aging water main and “figure out where drainage goes, where things might have to be moved, and maybe get out of the rights of ways and easements on private property,” Caldwell said.
The contract awarded to Weston and Sampson in February was for $119,000. The added design work could cost an additional $135,000, he explained.
There is already a survey for the plans.
“Sterling Municipal Light is holding off on burying utilities so they don’t get in the way if we have to do water main or any other drainage,” Caldwell said. “It does not matter as much in certain areas, but it is going to matter in other areas.”
Caldwell said if the town does not get the grant, it might use some of its federal ARPA money for the water main work.
Once it comes time to bury utilities, Caldwell said they have the money to bury the Verizon lines, but not Comcast. The local light department will work on the electrical lines.
“We purchased light poles for when we get to that,” the administrator said. “We have conduits, but don’t have money if we have to do the water main, the road and the sidewalks. Some things can happen quickly. Other things will take some time and more money to fully complete the project.”
Select Board member David Smith said he wants it “one and done.”
“Let’s do it once and do it right,” Smith said. “Nothing gets me angrier than having to rip some some freshly” paved work.
Select Board Chair Maureen Cranson said that while the project has been “talked about forever,” and there is still work to do, there is now a strong team working on it, including Caldwell, DPW Superintendent Ryan Mouradian, Sterling Municipal Light Manager Darren Borge, Patty Page from the planning department, and the new planner coming on board in the next few weeks.
“It is a great team, and I have faith moving forward,” Cranson said.
In other business, Cranson noted the passing of 105-yearold resident Ken Day.
Day died Oct. 5. “He was the vibrant heart of town,” Cranson said. “He was the most interesting man to sit down and talk to over the past few years.”
