By Joan F. Simoneau, Community Reporter
Marlborough – A request from Mayor Arthur Vigeant was presented to the City Council at its Feb. 22 meeting to accept a $30,000 grant from the state Division of Local Services as part of a Community Compact agreement the city signed with Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito last August. Terms of the grant include a pledge by the city to focus on several best practices, including job creation and retention, complete streets, and capital planning.
In his communication to the council, Vigeant expressed his thanks to Polito, and said: “Through the Community Compact program, Gov. Baker’s administration released grant monies to assist communities in writing a capital plan. We have procured the services of the Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts, to meet with city officials to identify necessary long-term projects in order to develop a comprehensive capital plan. The Collins Center has experience assisting municipalities in writing capital plans and other planning initiatives.”
Vigeant and his staff will soon begin discussions with the Collins Center and will ultimately give a presentation to the City Council once it has been drafted. His intention is to complete the plan prior to the close of the fiscal year, although the grant allows for completion until the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2017.
Vigeant also announced, and sought acceptance of, a grant for $99,805 from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security for the city’s Police Department. In his communication to councilors, the mayor said the funds will be used to offset personnel costs in the Public Safety Dispatching Center and to purchase three computer tablets for updated, computerized emergency medical dispatch protocol guidelines at each answering point in the dispatch center.
In a communication to the mayor stating the city’s receipt of the reimbursement grant, Police Chief Mark F. Leonard included a letter from Frank P. Pozniak, executive director of Governor Charles Baker’s office, thanking him for participating in the FY2016 State 911 Department Support and Incentive Grant Program.
Councilors accepted both grants.
