Selectmen add $10k to budget for water system improvements in village

Published Date

BELMONT — Selectmen voted unanimously last week to allow $10,000 from the existing capital works fund to pay for additional engineering and design work on the Phase 2 portion of the village revitalization.
The purpose of the additional engineering is to relocate the existing water mains that cross private property in the Spring Street area on to areas the parallel the exiting streets in the area.
"This would be our time to move them," said Public Works Director Jim Fortin to the Board of Selectmen on Monday.
Town Administrator Jeanne Beaudin said relocation of the water lines is outside the scope of the proposed $355,000 Phase 2 renovation scheduled to begin this spring and would be covered by the capital works accounts.
The Belmont Revitalization Project is to energize an ongoing effort to reinvigorate the village area. The first phase began last summer and concentrated on Main Street, the reconfiguration of Mill and Center Street and upgrading the water and sewer system in the area. Phase 1 included additional parking and more green space.
Phase 2, for which the town applied for a United States Department of Agriculture Community Development Block Grant last December, will replace the waterline on Gales, Spring, Nelson, Lawrence, the rest of Sargent, Memorial and School Streets.
Beaudin has said that if the town doesn't qualify for the CDBG block grant, the town does qualify for $242,000 for the state revolving loan fund and would require additional money if it were to complete the entire proposed Phase 2 portion.