Patrick Grego / The New Pine Plains Herald
The Pine Plains Town Board voted Tuesday, March 10, at a special meeting to authorize submission of a state grant application for a proposed sidewalk and pedestrian safety project in the hamlet.
The resolution allows the town to apply for funding through the New York State Department of Transportation’s Transportation Alternatives Program, which provides federal support for pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure projects.
Town officials estimate the project’s total eligible cost at $3,949,121, requiring a 20 percent local match of approximately $789,821 if the grant is awarded.
According to the resolution read into the record at the meeting, the proposal would replace sections of existing concrete sidewalks along portions of North Main Street, Church Street, East Church Street and South Main Street, while also installing pedestrian lighting, crosswalks, storm drainage improvements and related infrastructure.
“If we are awarded the grant, then the town is committed to following through on the grant, with a contract, and coming up with the required local match,” Town Board member Jeanine Sisco said.
Officials said the town will finance its share through bonding.
Sisco also said the town had received multiple letters of support for the application from residents, businesses and elected officials.
“We did get a lot of letters of support sent in from local people and local businesses,” she said, adding that the town had also received support from Assemblymember Didi Barrett’s office and Dutchess County Legislator Chris Drago’s office.
The grant application follows a March 3 public forum at Town Hall, where residents reviewed plans for the proposed improvements and offered feedback on crosswalk placement, lighting and other pedestrian safety measures.
The proposal represents a scaled-down phase of the 2014 Pine Plains Town Center Pedestrian Plan, which envisioned broader walkability improvements across the hamlet. Town officials previously said the state encouraged Pine Plains to break the project into smaller phases after an earlier proposal proved too large for the grant program.
Grant awards are expected later this year. If Pine Plains receives funding, officials previously said the town would likely select a consultant later this year, with surveying, environmental review and design work continuing through 2027 and construction authorization targeted for 2028.
Supervisor Brian Walsh was absent from Tuesday’s meeting.
After approving the resolution, the board moved to enter executive session to discuss developments related to the town’s cancelled contract with Flock Safety, which has drawn public scrutiny in recent weeks.
“I make a motion that we go into executive session to discuss matters surrounding flock, and the issues that have come up with that, and information that we recently received,” board member Kevin Walsh said. “We need to review it and figure out where we’re gonna go from here.”
The board then voted to enter executive session.
The next Pine Plains Town Board meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. on March 19 at Town Hall.