"Granting" Windsor Locks Better Streets

Construction on Olive Street

by The Save Windsor Locks Staff
SaveWindsorLocks@gmail.com

As you drive down Suffield and North Main Street you hear the sound of heavy machinery and the "beep, beep, beep", when they are backing up.  What does this "beep" mean for the residents of Windsor Locks?  

Our utilities are being improved, old sewer pipes have been replaced, road beds are resurfaced and new sidewalks installed.  Some of these pipes were so old they were actually made of clay.  This project on Olive and Pleasant Street has a price tag of Five Hundred Thousand Dollars.  If you wondering what the cost to the residents of Windsor Locks is, you will be pleasantly surprised.  ZERO! Last Night the Town had a hearing for another round of funding for Fern Street and the eastern end of Pearl Street for the same amount of funding.

How in this day and age can a small town like Windsor Locks get over a million dollars from the Federal and Connecticut State Governments?  First Selectman Steven N. Wawruck has been aggressively pursuing State and Federal dollars through a program called the Small Cities Grant through the Department of Economic Development.

  

This Grant is part of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development's Small Cities Community Development Grant Program which provides grants to cities and towns for economic development, affordable housing, community facilities and revitalization projects.  "The money is out there, we just keep working hard on our grant applications to make sure that Windsor Locks can get every single dollar that we are eligible to get." Wawruck said. "It's a fantastic program, allowing us to make much needed improvements on our aging infrastructure with out having to raise our mill rate".

The Town Hall renovation project was also funded a couple years ago through the same program for a Six Hundred Thousand Dollar award to allow for handicap access throughout the entire building that included the addition of an elevator and complete renovation of the restroom facilities.

Three paving projects for Pesci Park, Veteran's Park and Town Hall parking lots were funded through a Small Cities Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) grant in the amount of One Hundred and Thirty Six Thousand Dollars and will be completed before the end of summer this year.  

The next time you are driving around Windsor Locks and you hear "beep, beep, beep",  smile because it's the sound of improving our community without a higher property tax bill.