"Awesome," was First Selectman Dan Rosenthal's immediate reaction Friday after learning the Connecticut Office of Policy & Management (OPM) just released a $235,371 grant to Newtown to apply to road construction and improvement projects.The Newtown Bee. "This road grant was previously committed to by the state and anticipated by the town."

"I'm pleased the OPM is finally releasing these funds," Mr Rosenthal told

Around noon on Friday, March 30, OPM Secretary Benjamin Barnes announced $26.7 million in Municipal Grains-in-Aid will be distributed to municipalities throughout the state. These grants assist municipalities with road construction and improvement costs, as well as snow and ice removal, and transportation safety-related expenses.

"Keeping our roads and bridges in state of good repair remains a priority," Secretary Barnes stated in a release. "The state certainly understands the high costs of transportation infrastructure maintenance and repair. We hope that the release of these grants will allow municipalities to offset their costs for capital infrastructure projects, which will enable them to prepare for the heavier travel that accompanies spring and summer."

Public Act 17-2 Section 432, June Special Session, continued the Municipal Grants-in-Aid program to provide grants to municipalities for fiscal year ending June 30, 2018. Funds may be used as specified in Section 13a-175a(a) of the general statutes, which the relevant portion provides:

"…to be used by the towns for construction, reconstruction, improvement or maintenance of highways, sections of highways, bridges or structures incidental to highways and bridges or the improvement thereof, including the plowing of snow, the sanding of icy pavements, the trimming and removal of trees, the installation, replacement and maintenance of traffic signs, signals and markings, and for traffic control and vehicular safety programs, traffic and parking planning and administration, and other purposes and programs related to highways, traffic and parking, and for the purposes of providing and operating essential public transportation services and related facilities."

The towns receiving grants have certified the funds received are being used in compliance with Section 13a-175a(a).

Another round of funding will go out in May as additional communities submit certifications.

Mr Rosenthal said that State Representatives Mitch Bolinsky (R-106) and JP Sredzinski (R-112) recently told him they both advocated on behalf of Newtown regarding this distribution.

"My thanks to our entire delegation for pushing to get these funds released," the first selectman added.

Among Newtown's bordering communities, Brookfield ($118,281), Monroe ($179,106) and Redding ($1,329) also received distributions in this round of grants, according to the OPM.