GREENFIELD, MA (FRANKLIN COUNTY NOW) — After a long discussion, the Greenfield Ways and Means Committee has voted to make a recommendation that the Mayor restore as much of the originally allocated $1.35 million in ARPA funding to GCET as possible.
Ways and Means met with John Lunt the General Manager at GCET (Greenfield Community Energy and Technology) and Mayor Desorgher Tuesday evening to discuss the complex build out project, including expansion to the North end of the city and the lengthy and expensive “make ready” process that includes acquiring licenses for using the utility poles from the pole owners, Eversource and Verizon.
According to Lunt, GCET’s expansion has been hindered by the increasingly lengthy and expensive process of “make ready” for which rising costs can be difficult to predict across expanding wait times. The build out took another hit when ARPA funds, allocated by former Mayor Roxann Wedegartner, were withdrawn as current Mayor Ginny Desorgher faces difficult decisions on where to spend the grant money with so many municipal needs and the looming deadline of the end of this year to finalize ARPA spending plans.
When approximately $300,000 in ARPA funds were withdrawn from GCET, Lunt said plans to request a bond had to be moved up and enlarged in order to continue working on legacy “make ready” processes that Lunt inherited from the previous General Manager and the North end build out.
After budget discussions, the Committee ultimately voted to make a recommendation to the Mayor to restore as much ARPA funding as possible to alleviate the need for a larger bond, which GCET would be responsible for paying and Lunt felt confident GCET could pay.