Investments in Antrim’s transfer station and Highway Department are some of the big-ticket items proposed for Antrim’s 2025 capital improvements budget.
“The transfer station needs significant investment,” said Michael Devine, chair of the Capital Improvement Committee. “Transfer stations in other towns are able to self-fund or pay funds back to the town, and we need to get out transfer station to that point. There are options to bring in more funds at the transfer station.”
Devine’s presentation suggested that the town “needs professional planning to to realize the full earnings potential of the transfer station.”
The total initial proposed capital budget for the Highway Department and transfer station for 2025 is $306,373, with a reserved capital balance for the department of $162,445. Proposed improvements for the transfer station include a new baler and four used storage trailers, while the Highway Department is requesting funds for several replacement vehicles, including a CAT loader.
Devine noted that the Highway Department is looking at leasing some equipment as a way to save funds.
Other proposed capital projects for Antrim town buildings in 2025 include replacement of the floor in the Great Brook Middle School gym, which has an initial cost estimate of $100,000. Devine noted that ConVal will pay an estimated 40% of the cost per the town’s agreement with ConVal, but that he will need to confirm that percentage with the district.
“The gym floor is really in bad shape. It’s buckled, and has to be replaced this year,” Devine said.
Other proposed capital expenses include repairs to the heating system at the Town Hall, estimated at $75,000; an Americans With Disabilities Act-compliant bus for the Recreation Department with a potential cost of $90,000; and replacement windows, exterior paint and repairs at the town’s Aiken Barn property, estimated at a total of $57,900.
Devine said that ADA grant funds may be available to defray the cost of the new bus.
“Our old bus is great, but not for a child who uses a wheelchair. The bus cannot accommodate wheelchairs,” Devine said.
Melissa Gallagher, executive director of The Grapevine, and Jacqueline Roland, director of The Grapevine’s Avenue A Teen Center, presented the organization’s request for signage and paint to increase safety around the new traffic flow pattern at The Grapevine and Tuttle Library.
“The expectation is that the town will pay for some of the signage, and we will pay for some of it,” Gallagher said. “It is a modest request.”
The Grapevine, which received a $1 million CDFA Community Center Program Grant in 2024, is under construction. A new addition to the building, which will house the Avenue A Teen Center, is eliminating one exit onto Aiken Street, forcing a change in traffic pattern affecting both The Grapevine and the Tuttle Library parking lot.
Planning Board Chair Mike Murdaugh explained that the board’s largest budget increase is due to a request to transition the land use assistant position, which supports the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Adjustment, from part-time to full-time.
Planning Board member John Anderson spoke to the need for a grant-writer for both the planning and zoning boards.
“Right now, we are looking at three different grant opportunities which could benefit our town that our volunteer board just does not have time to apply for,” Anderson said. “Having a full-time person with time dedicated to grant-writing would make all the difference in being able to go after some of these funds. We are leaving a lot of money on the table because we don’t have a grant-writer.”
Anderson presented the Planning Board’s proposal for a full-time land use assistant, which would allocate 60% time for land use support, 20% for communications and 20% for grant writing.
The Planning Board is also requesting funds for legal fees for appeals.