State Signals Flexibility on STEAP Grant, Town to Assess Needs

The State of Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) has advised The Goshen News that there is some flexibility in the use of the half-million-dollar STEAP grant award for a new Public Works facility, and that there is plenty of time for Goshen to fulfill the program requirements for obtaining a final contract.

Several residents recently expressed concerns to The Goshen News over apparent deviations by the Town from the STEAP program’s published application procedures and requirements, and that it might consequently lose the grant award. Program requirements are specified in the State’s 2023 (FY 24) Small Town Economic Assistance Program Guidelines, which includes a statement that “All funding (other than STEAP funding) for the STEAP project must be secured as of the time of application.” (The underlined text is as presented in the official document.) The Town did not meet this requirement. As reported in The Goshen News November edition, the Board of Finance had not yet been presented with a budget request for the funds that Goshen taxpayers would have to provide, approval of which would be required before proceeding to a final vote to approve the expenditure at a Town Meeting.

Both the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) and DECD have confirmed that any such issues can be resolved prior to issuance of a grant contract, however. Among the items to be perfected before a contract can be issued are securing the funding for the non-STEAP portion of the project budget, obtaining all necessary local permits, finalization of the budget for building costs, gaining approval of the Board of Finance, and obtaining approval of the Goshen taxpayers in a Town Meeting vote. First Selectman Todd Carusillo advised in his correspondence with The Goshen News that he is working on fulfilling the various requirements so that the grant award can proceed to contract.

“Any missing information or required documents would be obtained by the Administering Agency prior to entering into a grant contract”, according to Martin L. Heft, the Undersecretary at OPM who issued the award notice for Goshen in September. While OPM is responsible for review and approval of grant applications, it assigns the execution and management of contracts to various other state agencies. Goshen’s project was assigned to DECD, whose Director of the Office of Small Business, Sheila Hummel, confirmed that there is time to address any issues before contract. The Town “[has] four years to spend the funds, so it’s not like they’re running out of time right now,” she said. She further explained that the State’s objective is to help the towns get the projects built, rather than placing obstacles in their paths.

In regard to program flexibility, we asked First Selectman Carusillo if the recent decision to suspend the work of the Building Committee and restart the process of needs assessment meant that the application process would also have to be restarted. He responded that it did not, which The Goshen News has conformed. We also asked if the grant funds could be used for an eventual alternative plan, as some have suggested building an addition to the existing firehouse, rather than constructing a new building on the 190 Sharon Turnpike land parcel across the street. “No, it is address specific”, Carusillo replied.

When we posed the same questions to OPM and DECD, however, greater flexibility was signaled. OPM’s Martin Heft quoted the policy that STEAP grant funds cannot be repurposed, and “only minor changes germane to the original scope from the approved application shall be approved by the administering agency.”  We then asked DECD’s Sheila Hummel to comment on the definition of a minor change. Would a change of location be acceptable? She responded that it would be, though it would require approval from OPM. We received a similar answer when we asked whether a change in plans from a free-standing new building to a building addition on an existing facility would be acceptable. “The town would have to submit it for approval,” she said, but indicated that it, too, could be OK.

At some point in the week following our original inquiries the First Selectman was apparently able to verify that a change in location would be an option. In statements made during the December 5^th Board of Selectmen’s meeting, he suggested that the Town would now likely be looking at constructing an addition on the existing firehouse and a separate Public Works cold storage facility at a location yet to be determined. A needs assessment for both the Fire Company and Public Works will precede any further planning.

The Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) funds economic development, community conservation and quality of life projects for localities that are ineligible to receive the Urban Action funds granted to larger cities and towns. The funds are issued by the State Bond Commission, and can only be used for capital projects, such as new construction, expansion, renovation or replacement for an existing facility or facilities. 84 STEAP applications were received from small towns across the State in 2023, of which 60 were awarded.

We asked OPM’s Heft if some applications get withdrawn or disqualified in the period between grant award notification and contract signature. “There are not disqualified recipients after the award is made,” he told us, but “There have been instances where a contract is not executed due to the work being completed prior to contract execution, making the municipality ineligible