A proposal for a reimaginged Centertown was part of a presentation of 2022 downtown visioning outcomes Aug. 9.
The project is a result of a 2012 decision to accept a state Tax Increment Financing program – in which property tax revenue created by public improvements is used to offset their cost — for Department of Public Works projects to improve the Lower Main Street/Centertown area. The town gathered community feedback to generate a required TIF plan outlining the key projects, and Town Planner Danica Melone said the goals were landscaping, streetscaping, lighting, improving on-street parking and adding public benches or other public amenities.
The first group of requested improvements were feasible within the next one to two years: more bike racks, trash cans, picnic tables and benches. The TIF Committee voted to allocate funds for four bike racks, one trash can and one picnic table. Benches will not be an expense thanks to a program with the local Lions Club in which the town trades plastic to be recycled for benches. Centertown properties will also provide two picnic tables with umbrellas and a partitioned garden area.
More long-term projects included improvements to the municipal parking lot on Wall Street, children’s play structures, a greenspace park on Depot Street, lighting enhancements, a common path and the intersection of Depot and Main streets. The municipal lot is divided between the town and two private owners, both of which will cooperate with the project. Many of the business owners in the area indicated that the lot was “very univiting,” and the DPW will be looking to implement art, gardens and better lighting.
Concerns regarding the intersection of Depot Street and Main Street and the common path were addressed in conjunction with other paving and larger infrastructure projects. The plan includes a realigned crosswalk in the intersection, landscaping improvements, homage to the Boston and Maine Railroad which once traveled through Depot Square and safety measures.
The common path will focus heavily on Americans With Disabilities Act measures. The sidewalk will be wider, allowing for two wheelchairs to pass each other. There will also raised bumps at crosswalks that alert the visually impaired of their surroundings. There will be distance bump-outs so parked cars can be more comfortably passed, a common concern.
Requested projects that had unknown timelines were for a permanent, devoted public restroom building and burial of utility lines. Melone provided no timeline on these projects, or the larger, longer-term undertakings. The requests were listed in order of timeline, and those without a designation of “unknown” are projected to take more than five years.
Questions from the audience included funding, and Melone said the TIF had accrued approximately $350,000 thus far, and that more grants will be pursued in the September cycle.
“As we move forward to pay for this engineering work, we had secured a grant that had no match requirement, which was fantastic, through the Monadnock Alliance for Sustainable Transportation,” said Melone. “They have a $120,000 grant cycle that is coming up this September, so ideally we’ll be looking to try and apply to use some of those funds to start with some of those short- and medium-phase items so that we can start moving forward with improvements.”