Ridgefield Approves Funding For EV Chargers, New Sidewalks & More

RIDGEFIELD, CT — All the agenda items voted upon at Wednesday night's Town Meeting were approved, across two votes by the residents present.

One vote approved the allocation of reimbursable funds requests totaling $820,917.

These included a $400,000 allocation, reimbursable through a Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Urbanized Act Grant, for Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant playground surfaces. One will be installed at Ridgebury Elementary School and the second will be at Barlow Mountain Elementary School.

A second allocation, of $50,917, was made available from the state's settlement of a lawsuit with Volkswagen in 2018. The grant will be used to install six dual chargers for electric vehicles: three at the Venus Municipal Building, two on Governor Street, and one at the Parks & Rec Center. The chargers will not be free of charge to motorists, who will pay a fee for their use. Revenues will be used to offset maintenance and operational costs for the hardware.

A third allocation, of $370,000, was made available through a Connecticut Department of Transportation Community Connectivity Grant. The money is intended for a new sidewalk connecting Gilbert Street, New Street and Main Street.

In their second vote, residents approved an allocation of $23,000 of ARPA funds to purchase two Zodiac boats and electric motors for use by Ridgefield safety departments.