Enfield council backs state grant bids for Hazardville Institute and Armory Branch trail study

ENFIELD - The Enfield Town Council on Nov. 2 authorized the town to apply for up to $3.5 million in state Community Investment Fund money for the Hazardville Institute and its parking lot, according to the meeting minutes posted Nov. 4.

The council also approved an application for $250,000 for a feasibility study of an Armory Branch rail-with-trail, the minutes say. Both requests go to the state Department of Economic and Community Development.

On a 9-1 roll call, the council moved $15,000 from its contingency account to council travel for the National League of Cities conference, with Councilor John Santanella voting no. Councilor Cynthia Mangini said the conference brings back grant and funding information, according to the minutes.

The council accepted a donated variable message board trailer from the JLN Eyes Forward Foundation for the police department, which the town will maintain and whose estimated $1,500 annual subscription it will pay starting in the fourth year. It also moved $19,703.64 in leftover federal pandemic relief money to Town Hall campus signage and set its 2027 meeting dates. The minutes have not yet been approved.

Source: Enfield Town Council, regular meeting minutes, Nov. 2, 2026) (PDF, CivicClerk), and meeting video (YouTube).

How this story was made: AI tools helped research and draft this story, working from the sources cited and linked above. It was fact-checked against those sources, and our editor, Joshua Allen, reviewed and approved it before publication. See an error? Email upriverdaily@gmail.com.