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July 10, 2020

Lamont restores capital improvement grant program for small towns

HBJ Photo | Joe Cooper Main Street in downtown Manchester.
By HBJ Staff

The state says it's reinstating a capital improvement initiative for small towns that has been dormant since 2016 in an effort to support local economies slammed by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Gov. Ned Lamont announced Thursday that Connecticut is reinstating the Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP), which is a state grant program aimed at funding capital improvement projects in towns ineligible to receive bond issuances.

Lamont said the state is restoring the program with a new round of grants worth $15 million to provide towns financial support during a time of fiscal uncertainty due to the global health crisis.

Additionally, the STEAP initiative is being relaunched with a special COVID-19 provision that supports towns with expenditures based on their response to the pandemic for new construction, expansion, renovation, or replacement for existing facilities.

Lamont's office is rebooting a new round of STEAP grants weeks after a report showed that the coronavirus outbreak has cost towns and cities in Connecticut nearly half a billion dollars.

“Our small towns have been hit hard by COVID-19 and are in need of our help to fund these projects,” Lamont said in a statement. “Simply put, some of our small towns need to modernize their infrastructure so that we can support efforts to grow the economy but lack the property tax base they need to fully fund these projects on their own. The state can and should do what we can to help with these costs, as these small towns drive tourism... ."

The governor's office said towns selected to receive STEAP grants will be required to execute a contract with the state agency overseeing their grant prior to spending any project-related funds. Expenditures made prior to a contract being signed are not eligible for reimbursement, officials said.

The application period for the initial round of funding, coordinated by the Office of Policy and Management (OPM), lasts from Monday, July 13 to Aug. 14. Projects will be selected by mid-September, officials say.

Application materials can be found on OPM's website and the Department of Administrative Services’ contracting portal in the coming days.

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