Preston - It was one of the easiest votes the Board of Selectmen could take.

First Selectman Robert Congdon asked his two fellow selectmen for approval to accept a $1 million state grant with no town matching requirement to help clean up the former Norwich Hospital property. The town received a letter Feb. 29 from the state Department of Economic and Community Development affirming the state Bond Commission's approval of the grant. The town has 23 days to respond to receive the funding.

"This proposal represents the governor's continuing commitment to support Connecticut's municipalities, and we are pleased to have an opportunity to work with you on this project," the letter from DECD Commissioner Catherine Smith said.

Jim Bell, the member of the Preston Redevelopment Agency who oversees grant applications, said the agency actually already has started abatement work on one of the four buildings to be demolished using the grant funds. He said the agency received a verbal OK from state officials to start abatement of the Seymour building, knowing the grant was imminent.

Selectmen delayed action Thursday on two other resolutions involving state funding to clean up the hospital property, because they both require town matching funds. A $500,000 brownfields cleanup grant will require a 25 percent, $125,000 local match.

Bell said the agency has proposed using $110,000 of its own funds, including some money raised from the sale of salvaged metal from demolished buildings, for most of the match. The agency will ask the Board of Finance next week for the remaining $15,000 needed for the local match. Once the match is in place, the town can accept the money from the state, Congdon said.

The state also approved a $4 million low-interest loan for Preston, but it requires an equal local match that would have to be approved at a referendum. Bell said the 20-year loan is proposed at 3 percent interest, but Congdon said some municipalities recently have bonded money at lower rates.

Congdon and agency Chairman Sean Nugent sent a letter to the DECD Wednesday proposing that the $4 million loan be forgiven over time "upon the town's successful cleanup of the property, contribution of the required matching funds and the creation of temporary remediation and construction jobs followed by permanent jobs."

The letter described the town's contributions to date, its success in obtaining several federal cleanup grants, and pending applications for more federal funds.

Combined, the $4 million loan and $4 million town match would be enough to demolish 75 percent of the existing buildings on the 390-acre property, providing immediate abatement and demolition jobs.

"The sooner the site is made development ready," the town officials said, "the sooner we will meet our mutual goal of creating quality permanent jobs for our region and the state of Connecticut. Full development of this site will create hundreds of permanent jobs."

c.bessette@theday.com