JAY — The Select Boards of three towns are being asked to commit to an estimated $27,202.35 of in-kind work on the tennis courts next to Spruce Mountain Elementary School on Regional School Unit 73 property.

Jay will take up the request at 6 p.m. Monday at the Town Office. Livermore and Livermore Falls will each take it up at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at their respective town offices.

Deb Roberts of Livermore,  president of the Hollandstrong Community Foundation, made the request to all three boards. She founded the foundation in memory of her son, Michael Holland, a Merchant Marine and 2008 Jay High School graduate who died when the SS El Faro sank on Oct. 1, 2015 off the coast of the Bahamas.

The tennis courts in Jay have not been used for about 10 years, due to large cracks in the playing surface that allow grass to grow, among other deficiencies.

Roberts said the foundation is collaborating with RSU 73 on a grant to rebuild the courts for use by students and district residents. It has received tentative approval for the 50/50 matching grant, which means a dollar-for-dollar match, from the state Bureau of Parks and Lands Water Conservation Fund. They are working on getting in-kind matches, so the grant application could move to the national level, she said.

“It is all contingent on everything coming together,” Roberts said.

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The overall current estimated cost of the project is $409,334. She has a total committed in-kind work valued at $128,636. The total pending is $83,465. However, if the grant is approved, some of the committed in-kind work is required to go out to bid, Roberts said.

In-kind design work, which is already done and factored in, is valued at $28,480, according to Roberts’ information.

Roberts is asking the three towns to do light demolition, strip pavement from the courts, strip loam and transport 1,662 cubic yards of material and 715 cubic yards of crushed gravel. She estimates it would be an overall 286 hours of trucking. That does not include labor or heavy equipment use.

Total estimated time frame from start to finish for in-kind work for the three towns’ highway crews is two to three weeks, according to Roberts’ letter sent to the three boards.

Roberts is expected to attend two of the board meetings. A representative of the project will attend the other because of the same meeting times.

Livermore Falls plans to have its courts redone at the town’s recreation field. It was supposed to happen before COVID-19 set in, which has delayed the work.


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