House Republican Press Release

March 31, 2008

Press Office: 860-240-8700

REP. STRIPP ANNOUNCES STATE APPROVES WESTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY GRANT

RIDGEFIELD- State Representative John Stripp, R-Weston, today said he was pleased to announce that Weston’s $250,000 Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) grant for construction of an archival records facility on the grounds of the Weston Historical Society was approved.

Weston intends to utilize its $250,000 request to defray the cost of construction of a fireproof and temperature/humidity controlled vault for the safe keeping of Weston’s historical documents.

Representative Stripp said “I want to thank Governor Rell for her willingness to award state funds for the Weston Historical Society for this meaningful capital project. This will permit Weston to protect a very important part of Connecticut’s early history.” 

The Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) funds economic development, community conservation and quality of life projects for localities that are ineligible to receive Urban Action bonds.  This program is administered by the Office of Policy and Management.

STEAP funds are issued by the State Bond Commission and can only be used for capital projects.  Programmatic expenditures or recurring budget expenditures are not eligible for STEAP or any other state bond program.  However, some projects while generally capital in nature should not be funded with State bond money for various public policy reasons. Examples of these are 1) salt and sand sheds; 2) town office buildings and improvements; and 3) communications systems, such as police radios. 

Projects eligible for STEAP funds include:

1) economic development projects such as (a) constructing or rehabilitating commercial, industrial, or mixed-use structures and (b) constructing, reconstructing, or repairing roads access ways, and other site improvements; 

2) [Urban] transit; 

3) Recreation and solid waste disposal projects; 

4) social service-related projects, including day care centers, elderly centers, domestic violence and emergency homeless shelters, multi purpose human resource centers, and food distribution facilities; 

5) Housing projects; 

6) Pilot historic preservation and redevelopment programs that leverage private funds; and 

7) Other kinds of [urban] development projects involving economic and community development, transportation, environmental protection, public safety, children and families and social service programs.

Localities may receive up to $500,000 per year if (1) their population is under 30,000, (2) they are not designated as a distressed municipality or a public investment community, and (3) the State Plan of Conservation Development does not show them as having an urban center.