At the November 13, 2024 Town Council meeting, the council voted unanimously to accept a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation in the amount of $122,360 with a matching grant from the Town in the amount of $11,000.  The Town's portion of $11,000 will be funded by the Unassigned Fund Balance.  Town Manager Patrick Fox explained, "Even though we applied for the grant, we don't budget for every grant we apply for."  

The grant will be used to design a replacement for the Spurwink Avenue culvert located on the Spurwink River.  Councilor Gabrielson said that this project was identified several years ago during a review of all town culverts and that this particular culvert was identified as a high-priority project.  The replacement will maintain a viable north-south traffic flow in town and benefit wildlife movement on the Spurwink River.  "I want to really hold this up and thank the Town Planner [Maureen O'Meara] as well as the other folks who have worked with her to go after this National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant.  It is a nationally competitive funding source and I think it really reflects the importance of this project and the good design work that's gone into it that we were awarded these funds," Gabrielson said.

Councilor Stephanie Anderson asked for clarification on the Spurwink Road culvert and the Sawyer Road/Street Road redevelopment project.  Gabrielson answered that the two projects are distinct.  The Spurwink Road culvert is on the opposite side of Spurwink Marsh; it is the road that leads to the Town Transfer Station.  During periods of high tide or spring tides, the undersized culvert restricts the amount of water that goes through the culvert and risks "blowing the whole culvert."  The Sawyer Road redevelopment project, which will remove approximately 1400 ft of road, will utilize a $1,590,000 grant awarded by the Maine Natural Resources Conservation Program.  To learn more about this project, please visit our Engage! site.