Prospect gets OK to build garage

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Watercourse will be altered

Prospect received a $200,000 STEAP grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development to pay for a new public works garage at 221 Cheshire Road.

PROSPECT — The town has secured a permit from the Inland Wetlands Commission to build a new public works garage on Cheshire Road.

Last year, Prospect was one of several towns in Greater Waterbury to receive grants through the Connecticut Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP). The town received a $200,000 STEAP grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development to pay for a new public works garage at 221 Cheshire Road.

The existing town garage, measuring approximately 70 feet by 70 feet, will remain on site, Mayor Robert J. Chatfield said. The new one, which will be 40 feet by 90 feet, will be built on the same property, which has an intermittent watercourse, he said.

Commission members last month voted, 4-1, to grant the permit to lower the watercourse with conditions, including checking with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to see if state approvals are required for the project.

Prospect Land Use Inspector William Donovan said DEEP has been contacted and no state approval is needed.

Chatfield said the watercourse will be lowered about a foot so the foundation of the new building is not immersed in water.

The new steel building, with three or four bays, will be used to store only equipment and materials, Chatfield said. During the winter, the Public Works Department has to park vehicles outside, he said. The new one will provide more storage space.

Now the town is writing specifications for the project, and once that is done, the town will go out to bid, Chatfield said. After the town receives the three lowest bids, they will be sent to the DECD for approval, he said.

The town could go out to bid next month, said Chatfield, a Republican who is seeking re-election in November.

Commission member Anthony Dorso, who cast the lone dissenting vote, said he opposed the permit because of the location of the new garage and what he believes is unnecessary dredging of the watercourse.

Dorso, an unaffiliated voter who is running for mayor on the Democratic ticket in November, said he doesn’t see the need to disturb that area when there is ample space behind the current garage.