By Susan MacEachron

First Selectman Matt Riiska provided details on the bids for the Mountain Road and River Place bridges at the Board of Finance (BoF) meeting on Feb. 8. River Place bridge will cost approximately $3 million, a 40 percent increase over the initial estimate in September 2020.  In a follow up conversation, Riiska attributed the increase to inflation and the complexity of the construction. The Mountain Road bridge contract will cost $1.4 million.

The River Place bridge benefits from a federal bridge program that will reimburse the town 80 percent of the cost.  The town will be entitled to a reimbursement of 50 percent of the cost for the Mountain Road bridge by the state Department of Transportation. The town’s portion of the bridge expense will be further reduced by a payment from Aquarion of $329,450 for work it would otherwise have to undertake to install the new waterpipes under Norfolk Brook. Consequently, the final cost to the town for the Mountain Road bridge is $376,469 before debt service on the loan.

Riiska reported that he had approached three banks to compare rates for a loan to cover the period before the federal and state reimbursements, plus a 10-year loan for the portion of each bridge that is the town’s financial responsibility. He anticipates the annual cost for debt service and amortization for each 10-year loan at $68,422 for the River Place bridge and $44,731 for the Mountain Road bridge. 

A special town meeting was held on Feb. 17 at which approval to contract for the bridge work and to borrow the necessary funds was approved unanimously.  Loans for both bridges will be provided by Salisbury Bank & Trust Co. at a fixed rate of 2.25 percent.

Riiska reported that the Norfolk Sewer District received a quote of $84,000 for a generator for the sewer plant. The sewer district’s initial estimate, which Riiska reported at the previous BoF meeting, was $74,000. Riiska recommended allocating $74,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for the generator, with the remainder paid for from sewer district funds. The BoF voted to approve. Riiska was asked about using ARPA funds to repair the slide at Botelle School. He said the slide repair company had not responded to his queries and so there was no quote for BoF to consider.

In response to a question about the proposed new firehouse, Riiska said the current plans are for a new building of approximately 10,000 square feet, about double the size of the existing firehouse. He gave the estimated cost as $4.5 million and said that he is searching for federal or state funds to help pay for part of the project.  

Riiska then took questions about various capital projects at Botelle School. He said the current budget includes a plan for an 8,000 gallon above-ground oil tank for Botelle at a cost of $180,000 and that only one tank company has replied to the town’s request for bids. The other major project at the school is a new roof. Riiska reported that the project is still being evaluated and that the most recent quote is $1.2 million for a standing seam roof.