Town Manager Tracks Grant Losses

By Adam Swift

At the request of the town council, Town Manager Tony Marino has been tracking the potential loss in state grants to Winthrop because it is not in compliance with the MBTA 3A Communities Act.

According to Marino, the town could lose up to $2.5 million in state grants for not being in compliance with the state law. However, he cautioned that while Winthrop is eligible for the $2.5 million in grants, it is not a guarantee the town would receive that full total even if it was in compliance with 3A.

The spreadsheet from Marino includes grants the town has been told it did not get because it is not in 3A compliance, as well as several grants it has not been able to even apply for because of the noncompliance.

“We put the maximum grand totals in there (for the grants), but obviously there is no guarantee that we would have got that maximum,” said Marino.

Marino pointed to a state Cooling Corridors grant which the state said Winthrop did not receive because it is not 3A compliant.

There were also some grants, including the state Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness grant, which Winthrop did not qualify for this year even though most other communities received it.

“I would assume it is because of 3A, although there is no way to prove it because the denial letter just said you didn’t get qualified this year,” said Marino. “That was for the Morton and Banks area. And then there were several grants this year, they kind of upped the ante, where you can’t even apply for some of the grants, whether it is Green Communities or the Commission on Disabilities grant, the school grants we haven’t included yet, but we will, and then the Waterways grant.”

A year ago, Marino said the town received $225,000 of the $250,000 it requested from the Commission on Disabilities grant to build a new ramp at the library.

“Green Communities, I’ve never been turned down … we’ve gotten the max amount,” said Marino. “I certainly anticipate we would get the max amount for that … you can never prove it 100 percent, but based on past history, there is some impact from that.”

Councilor-at-Large Max Tassinari said it is disappointing that Winthrop has lost out on potentially $2.5 million and counting because it is not in compliance with 3A.

Marino said that nothing that the town has lost out on will impact its operating budget, but he said there are some items that could affect the town’s capital planning and budget.

“Maintaining a good state of repair on many things across the town is certainly being impacted by not having this funding available,” said Tassinari.

Councilor-at-Large Kurt Millar noted that in many instances, the town has to allocate some of its own funds to be eligible for the grant money.

“Sometimes there is a little bit of balance with the grants where, yes, it is hurting at some points and at other points it’s beneficial,” said Millar.

Town Council President Jim Letterie asked the town manager if he could total all the money the town has received in grants so that the council can compare it to the potential funding Winthrop has lost.