Bourne Select Board directs $188,000 to Main Street intersection, $75,000 to ball fields

BOURNE -- February 13, 2024, Bourne Select Board unanimously approved $188,000 in Chapter 90 highway funds for Main Street intersection upgrades and up to $75,000 in ARPA funds for a DPW ball field maintenance pilot. DPW Director Matt Sawicki told the board the Chapter 90 money restores decorative pavement, fixes drainage, replaces brick sidewalk inlays, and installs conduit bases for future street lighting at the Main Street and Academy Drive intersection, drawing from a $1,854,290.28 Chapter 90 balance confirmed by the town administrator. The ball field pilot covers five Little League sites, Pocasset, Monument Beach, Community Building, Keith Field, and Clark Field, after what board members described as unacceptable conditions last summer under an informal maintenance arrangement with Bourne Youth Baseball. Vice Chair Anne-Marie Siroonian called the conduit pre-installation "very, very cost-effective," and the town administrator said the pilot is designed to generate real cost data before the town seeks a permanent operating-budget appropriation at the May 6 Town Meeting. The board also heard a broadband infrastructure update from ITAC Chair Bob Dwyer and a program overview from Bourne Community Boating; no votes were taken on either presentation.