By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(Nov. 9, 2017) Stormwater work on William Street in Berlin is nearly finished and contractor Goody Hill Goundwork Inc., has shifted much of its focus to repairing nearby Baker Street.

Construction started in September and caused partial road closures, not to mention a large dip in the road that was the subject of some chatter during a Town Council meeting on Oct. 10.

“A councilmember jumped a little too high when he hit that bump,” Councilman Thom Gulyas said at the time. “I didn’t see the sign.”

The $396,370 stormwater project was the latest in a series of townwide improvements paid for by $2 million in state and federal grants.

That has included creation of culverts and offline wetlands on both Flower Street and William Street. Next, the town plans to widen piping in the area of Graham, Grice and Nelson streets.

Town Administrator Laura Allen said final paving on William Street started during the weekend.

“We’re very close to final completion … [but] there’s still a few little things that need to be taken care of,” she said, including seeding the staging area and some general tidying up.

After several major projects, grant money is dwindling and will likely affect the next phase of stormwater work.

“There’s another funding cycle that comes up in January,” Allen said. “We’ve already been talking about next steps and projects moving down the priority list, which would include work on West Street. There was a pretty significant budget attached to that – I think it was in the $2 million range just for West Street alone.”

Allen said the town also would pursue a planning grant to review its priority list, which was last updated about a decade ago.

“The question that I have is, is the priority list that we determined before those improvements were made … still valid,” Allen said. “Or, have we provided some relief in certain areas that would dictate focusing our efforts on another area first.”

Berlin has some advantages in seeking funding sources. The town created a stormwater utility that produces a dedicated income stream. It has also successfully finished several enhancements shown to reduce flooding.

“When we go to granting agencies and show that we’ve got that level of commitment, that level of income coming, and we’re able to identify both in-kind and, if necessary, a cash match if required, that makes us substantially more competitive than some other communities, who come in just expecting 100 percent funding their projects,” Allen said. “We do have a solid track record … as a demonstration of our follow-through on our commitment, and so that’s [also] made us more competitive.”

Allen said agencies have also responded favorably to the use of stormwater utility revenues to pay for designs before improvements start.

“We couldn’t get that reimbursed under a grant, but it puts us in a really solid position when it comes to grant applications, because we show a high level of readiness,” she said. “It’s a combination of expertise or experience, ready and available designs, as well as funding that we’ve got from utilities.”

The Town Council last month approved $139,364.57 for roadwork and drainage repairs for Baker Street.

Construction there has begun and is expected to finish by the end of the year.