Preston residents approve American Rescue Plan spending
Preston — Residents voted overwhelmingly to approve six spending items at a town meeting Thursday, using portions of the town’s $1.3 million federal American Rescue Plan Act grant to pay for a full-time firefighter, two fire vehicles, two plow trucks and renovations to Town Hall.
Only two of the approximately 30 residents attending the special town meeting at Preston Plains Middle School voted against the spending package for the six items. An ordinance passed at the June 9 budget town meeting called for town meeting approval for any ARPA spending item over $50,000. The town usually holds a referendum for spending items over $100,000 but the same ordinance exempted ARPA spending from that rule.
The items included $160,000 needed to complete the purchase of a pumper firetruck, $55,000 to replace the fire chief’s vehicle, $210,000 for a large plow truck, $84,000 for a smaller plow truck and $190,000 for Town Hall safety and accessibility improvements.
First Selectwoman Sandra Allyn-Gauthier said part of the Town Hall work would replace a sidewalk that leads to the rear door in the upper level. The work would improve safety egress and allow for one-way flow through the hallway if COVID-19 or other health restrictions are needed again.
The lone personnel item is the $183,388 for salary and benefits to hire an additional full-time firefighter to cover shifts where volunteer support has been lacking. Town officials have put off placing the cost in the operating budget to consider the item in the ARPA spending plan. The town now has a full-time paid fire chief, a full-time fire captain and hires per diem firefighters to cover three shifts per day, seven days a week.
None of the attendees offered comments on the spending plan following Allyn-Gauthier’s summary.
Resident Andy Depta was one of the two nay votes on the plan. Depta said after the meeting he objected to bundling the items into one vote, preferring to separate each spending request for a separate vote. During the meeting he asked Gauthier for clarification on whether the vote was on the entire ARPA package or just the items over $50,000. He said he understood her to say the items would be voted on individually.
The full ARPA spending plan is available on the town website, preston-ct.org. The boards of selectmen and finance approved the package in June, leaving $151,545 in reserve.
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