Southbridge Planning Panel Approves $875,000 CDBG Application and Eight Other Actions

SOUTHBRIDGE — April 8, 2026 — Southbridge's Planning and Development Subcommittee approved eight grant and budget actions at its April 8 meeting, headlined by a $875,000 CDBG Mini Entitlement application covering code enforcement, a transfer station feasibility study, and rail trail bridge design. Town Manager Jack McCollum and CDBG Coordinator Peg walked the panel through fiscal year 2027 department budgets — including a $86,105.68 Planning Department allocation reflecting a 2.5 percent COLA and step increase for Planning Director Katie Yoder — and a $5,892 Central Mass Regional Planning Commission assessment. The subcommittee also authorized an expression of interest through the state's One-Stop for Growth program seeking up to $5 million for infrastructure repairs at the Southbridge Innovation Center, contingent on Lundgren Equity Group's pending bankruptcy court acquisition of the campus; staff said the group intends "to drive more manufacturing and light manufacturing and office research into the park and less housing." An EDA Rail Trail Grant extension through June 30, 2026, will fund paving on the East Main Street trail segment and two new catch basins, while a new town gift account will channel community donations toward downtown beautification and trail maintenance. A budget error on the PEG/CDBG line was corrected during the meeting from $17,738.57 to $14,811 after Councilor Kelly flagged the discrepancy.