FAQ - funding

Are there any grants available?

There are no grants available for public safety buildings that we are aware of at this time. There may be an opportunity to apply for an MVP Action Grant but, to-date, no building projects have been funded. There are grants for fire and police equipment which we actively pursue. For example, the fire department received a grant for a washer/extractor to clean and decontaminate fire clothing.  This equipment will be transferred to the new public safety building.  The police recently received a grant for bullet proof vests.

Why can’t the State pay for this?

In 2018, the State Legislature passed and the Governor signed a bond bill that included funding for the construction of a public safety building in Princeton.  However, Princeton was one of many towns to be named in the bond bill and not every town gets funding before the bill expires in 2023.  Now, with the State facing severe revenue shortfalls because of COVID-19, we assume the likelihood of our getting any funding from that bond bill is very small. However, many believe that the Federal government will use infrastructure spending as a way to stimulate the economy. If and when that happens, we want to have our new public safety building be a “shovel ready” or fully designed project so we are near the top of the list for consideration.

We can’t wait for too long for someone else to fund our building. Caolo & Bieniek uses AM Fogarty as a cost estimator. According to them, the cost of constructing public safety buildings in Massachusetts has been increasing by approximately 5% per year though they are only predicting 3.5% for the next year. While costs are increasing, requirements are also increasing. We also have an inadequate facility that needs to be replaced. The $343,850 of stabilization we did in 2020 will tie us over for a few years but didn’t solve most of the building’s problems.