AMHERST — New sidewalks along Belchertown Road and infrastructure improvements near the East Street common are a focus for the town’s capital spending requests for this year’s Community Development Block Grant.

The $1.66 million in capital projects, along with $30,000 for Valley Community Development’s Microenterprise assistance program for low- and moderate-income resident business owners, are joined by $621,340 in requests from eight social service agencies.

But with $2.31 million in proposals, the CDBG Advisory Committee will have to figure out how to appropriate $1.65 million in CDBG funding from the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development. The state agency has designated Amherst a mini-entitlement community that is eligible to apply for the money that benefits low-and moderate-income individuals.

The recommendations, which also have to comply with a $1.07 million cap for capital projects and a $330,000 cap for social services, will be the subject of a remote public hearing by the committee Feb. 2 at 7 p.m.

The public hearing will be conducted at https://amherstma.zoom.us/j/85425700922 and will accommodate public comment to the extent practical. To join the meeting via telephone, call 312-626-6799 or 646-876-9923 and enter Webinar ID when prompted: 854 2570 0922.

Amherst’s final recommended activities that will be funded will be in alignment with the 2022-23 community development strategy, which identifies areas of town being targeted for improvements.

For the capital requests, $1 million is being sought to reconstruct a degraded and inaccessible sidewalk on the north side of Belchertown Road, add a sidewalk to the south side of the road, add bikes lanes in each direction and also replace curb ramping and curbing on a nearly half-mile stretch of Belchertown Road from Colonial Village to Stanley Street.

This will be combined with a $755,000 grant from the MassWorks Infrastructure program to pay for a portion of the project.

Another $655,000 is needed for the infrastructure work that will benefit a 29-unit mixed-income housing development on East Street, being undertaken by Way Finders, Inc., and a new elementary school across the street at the Fort River site. The application from the town states that “important infrastructure will be constructed to support the increase in residents and pedestrian traffic in this area” and that will mean “the abandonment of undersized, failing water and sewer main and connections to new sewer and water pipes.”

The eight social service requests include $140,000 for the food pantry at the Amherst Survival Center, $115,440 to expand case management for homeless individuals at Craig’s Doors, $104,000 for the Amherst Community Connections’ housing stabilization program and $43,900 for van services at the Amherst Senior Center.

Others social service agencies asking for money include $80,000 for Big Brothers Big Sisters, $78,000 for Family Outreach of Amherst, $40,000 for the Literacy Project and $20,000 for the Center for New Americans.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.]]>