ENFIELD — Residents will have a chance to discuss at a public hearing Thursday whether to put $517,000 toward the creation of a trail along Route 4A.
Through the “Walk-A-Mile Grant Project,” the town would develop a path from Shakoma Beach, along Route 4A and ending near the Enfield Shaker Museum property just past the former La Salette Shrine, which the nonprofit museum purchased in 2023.
“It would be a gravel trail, kind of like the rail trail,” Morris said, adding that the trail would be the opposite side of Route 4A from Lake Mascoma.
During Thursday’s public hearing, voters will also learn about two other bond requests: $280,000 to purchase a new municipal plow truck and $1.4 million to improve the town’s sewer system, which would be paid by those connected to the sewer system.
The trail project dates back to 2023 when the town was awarded a $919,000 federal scenic byway grant for it. The town was able to use nearly $150,000 of the grant for an engineering study, but had to return the rest of the funds because the time to spend them ran out before the town could break ground on the project, Morris said.
Enfield now expects to receive a nearly $2 million federal Transportation Alternatives grant for the project, Morris said. He expects N.H. Gov. Kelly Ayotte and the Executive Council will give their final approval for the grant in July.
The project, which also includes putting additional parallel parking spaces on Main Street near Lakeside Park across a bridge from the trail, is expected to cost around $2.58 million.
The Selectboard is asking residents if they’d like to use around $517,000 from the town’s Capital Improvement Program fund to pay for the required 20% in matching funds for the grant.
The proposal calls for taking out a bond, which would be repaid through the town’s capital improvement reserve fund. During Town Meeting, voters will also be asked to approve putting an additional $614,000 into the fund, Morris said.
“There would be no additional, immediate tax impact,” Morris said. “We would continue to fund our CIP program through taxes.”
The tax rate impact for the CIP fund article is 59 cents per $1,000 of valuation, or $177 for a house valued at $300,000.
If voters approve the bond as written by ballot in March, the project would begin in 2027 at the earliest, he added.
The Selectboard is still working on finalizing the warrant, including the proposed bond articles that will be discussed in a public hearing Thursday. After the public hearing, the Selectboard will finalize the warrant during a meeting scheduled for Tuesday. Residents will have another chance to weigh in on the bond articles and propose changes during the deliberative session on Saturday, Feb. 7. A final vote will take place March 10 via Australian ballot on the articles as warned after the deliberative session.
The proposal has some opposition.
Meredith Smith likes the idea of the trail.
“I think it’s downright dangerous to walk on 4A, particularly in the summer months when there are boat trailers parked there,” said Smith, a member of the town’s Heritage Commission, which works to promote Enfield’s resources including its historic sites and natural resources. “It’s a wonderful plan.”
However, she is concerned about the impact on taxpayers.
“I just worry about financing it because people are really stretched right now,” she said, noting that she’d like to “marshal a team of volunteers” or find “… an alternative way other than just spending taxpayer money.”
The town also is asking taxpayers to support a $280,000 bond to replace a 2012 plow truck, which has reached the end of its lifespan.
“We’re replacing like with like,” Enfield Department of Public Works Director Jim Taylor said.
If approved, the bond for the truck would be paid for out of the CIP fund, Morris said.
If voters approve the sewer project, the $1.4 million paid by the system’s users would go toward upgrading a 40-year-old pump station, among other sewer-related infrastructure improvements, Taylor said.
If approved, the bond would come from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services’ State Revolving Loan Fund, which towns can apply for for water infrastructure projects.
“Usually under this program we have some principal forgiveness, but we will also be applying for grants,” Taylor said.
The hearing is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 15, at Whitney Hall Auditorium, located at 23 Main St. in downtown Enfield. People can also stream the hearing via the town’s website at enfieldnh.gov/meetings. Voting on the bonds will take place via Australian ballot Tuesday, March 10.