Pittsfield begins grant-funded projects

PITTSFIELD – Deconstruction, construction and reconstruction will be happening from one end of Pittsfield to the other this summer, thanks to several grants the town successfully obtained.

Town Manager Kathryn Ruth said she recently learned that a federal grant to build a new snow removal equipment building at the town’s airport has been awarded at the full level of the project.

Ruth said that after the original bids on the building came in far above what she had projected, she thought she was going to have to scale the project back.

“It would have been a shame to build a building that didn’t have space for expansion,” she said.

The Federal Aviation Administration recently awarded Pittsfield $263,000, which will cover both the costs of construction and an engineer for the project. The building will be built next to the existing town hangar.

The low bidder for the job was F.W. Woodworth Inc. of Detroit at $218,385, and Ruth said the project will be completed this summer. It will house $200,000 worth of snow removal equipment the town also obtained through a FAA grant.

Across town, at the heart of the community, a park along Mill Pond is moving along slowly, Ruth said, because wet weather has blocked progress.

“But now we can really begin,” she added. “It’s a good thing we did not stay with the original June 1 deadline. Because of the rain, we would have never made it.”

The park, donated by the Fendler family, formerly was a trailer park and the cement pads are being removed. Brush and trees along the banks of the pond will also be trimmed or removed, and landscaping will begin soon.

The $196,000 renovation is being funded by more than $90,000 worth of community donations of labor, skills and equipment, as well as nearly $40,000 worth of labor by the town’s Public Works Department and a $50,000 Maine Department of Conservation grant.

The town council will deal with both issues at its Wednesday night meeting, voting on four resolutions that authorize proposals to rehabilitate an existing storage building at the park, offer the existing utility poles for sale and approve the overall park design.

The council will also vote on accepting the federal grant for the airport building.

Also on the agenda for the 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 8, meeting is:

. A report from Recycling Coordinator Don Chute on the 2004 municipal solid waste and recycling figures.

. Public hearings on changes to the town’s personnel policy and zoning ordinance.

. The purchase of a vehicle and other equipment for the Water and Sewer Department.

. Details of the town’s Safe Routes to School project and grant work.

. An update on the town’s tax acquired property.