Old Lyme — A request for up to $50,000 to finish out the Sound View sidewalk project by constructing a Shore Road bus stop across from the police station is moving forward.

The Board of Selectmen this week endorsed the additional appropriation. It now goes to the Board of Finance.

The amount covers the portion of the bus stop project not eligible for funding by the $400,000 state grant awarded in 2018 to install 5-feet-wide sidewalks on the western portion of Hartford Avenue and a portion of Route 156. State Department of Transportation guidelines prevent grant funds from being used for expenses like project design, legal fees and advertising.

The project is overseen by the town's Community Connectivity Grant Committee.

The bus stop will include a shelter donated by regional public transit provider 9 Town Transit, a pavement pad, sidewalk, bicycle repair station, bike rack and 21 trees to provide a barrier for neighbors.

First Selectman Tim Griswold has been critical of the project, and has been accused by former selectwoman and committee member Mary Jo Nosal of holding up the project. In September, the first selectman said the committee needed to come up with "a good presentation" to make to the finance board about exactly how much will be spent on the transit hub and why asking for additional town funds is a good idea.

The request for additional money must go to the finance board on its way to a town meeting, which Griswold said could happen late this month or in early January.

Committee member Frank Pappalardo said nonreimbursable expenses are currently slated to amount to $45,627. A project budget shows the committee already has paid more than $40,000 of those expenses related to the bus stop.

Despite the first selectman's reservations about taxpayers footing the bill for any portion of the project, Nosal in September said he signed every ineligible invoice the committee has sent his way except for the most recent one.

The expenses not covered by the grant that still need approval involve design services from the engineering firm BSC Group, which will allow for the completion of most of the bus stop amenities.

The newly constituted Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to endorse the additional appropriation. It was the first regular selectmen's meeting for Democrat Martha Shoemaker, who lost in the November election to First Selectman Griswold by 104 votes, and Republican Matt Ward.

The contractor's $261,000 construction bid for phase one of the project, combined with about $19,000 in inspection services and just over $4,000 in contingency costs, left $115,690 in unspent funds to pay for the bus stop. Phase one is in its final stages, as Martin Laviero Contractors Inc. addresses items on the project punch list.

With the completion of the bus stop, officials estimate they will be returning $9,840 in unused funds to the state.

The unspent money in the original grant does not change the fact that the town must ask taxpayers for the total amount not covered by the grant.

e.regan@theday.com

Editor's note: This article was updated to reflect that there are 21 buffer trees in plan for the bus stop.