Town Waits in Line For State Grant

Mayor Fred B. Allyn Jr. and Town Planner Charlie Karno traveled to Hartford Friday afternoon to present their case for a $300,000 Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) grant that would go toward a new parking lot at Ocean State Job Lot in Gales Ferry.

There they met with Office of Policy and Management Director Benjamin Barnes and his assistant, OPM Undersecretary Gian-Carl Casa. The meeting was arranged by state Rep. Tom Reynolds, D-Gales Ferry, who accompanied Allyn and Karno.

As the Ledyard delegation waited to see Barnes and Casa, Allyn said Karno was characteristically cracking wise. "He said if you have to wait more than 15 minutes you get the money."

They waited closer to 45 minutes, and when the door finally opened, Preston First Selectman Robert Congdon, accompanied by state Sen. Andrew Maynard, D-Stonington, and others walked out of Barnes' office.  

The Preston delegation was there seeking funds for the Preston River Walk. "We got all the money," Congdon quipped as he passed the Ledyard group.

Actually, that remains to be seen.

"This was not a situation where there was any expectation of receiving an answer the same day," said Allyn. Rather, they were told it could be a couple of weeks before they will know whether they made the first cut.

"It's a little tricky because this is a public-private partnership, which is anything but a cookie-cutter request," Allyn said.

The grant the town is seeking would be combined with a $600,000 investment from Ocean State Job Lot for a new parking lot. The town's $300,000 would be made available to Ocean State in the form of a no-interest loan that would be forgiven at an annual rate of 10 percent for 10 years, provided they meet certain terms.

Allyn said a refurbished parking lot would go a long way toward stimulating economic activity in Gales Ferry. "We fully expect that it will fill store fronts and spur economic development along the Route 12 corridor," he said.