The town of Pomfret will seek $1 million in Community Development Block Grant funding for its construction of a new town hall.

The Pomfret Town Board held a public hearing this week on the planned application, before holding a special meeting where the board approved it. A man who reported interest in constructing a housing development on land owned by Lily Dale attended the hearing to find out more about the CDBG program.

Pomfret purchased a former church on Chestnut Road last year and is renovating it as a new town hall.

“We’re looking at about $1 million” in CDBG funding, Pomfret Town Supervisor Dan Pacos said. “This would fund the senior center, some of the handicapped access issues, and possibly HVAC.”

He said the mobility-challenged access improvements would include a new ramp and upgraded bathrooms.

Pomfret doesn’t normally get CDBG money, but is applying for it under a part of the program that funds improvements for mobility-challenged access.

The town has already received some grant funding for the town hall project, and is trying to get more beyond the CDBG money. For example, Pacos said Pomfret has applied for a Climate Smart grant to help fund energy upgrades.

During the hearing about the application, Lily Dale resident Bob Reuther spoke up. “There are opportunities a lot of us would like to explore” about an affordable housing project for young families, he said.

Reuther said the group of interested parties is eying land owned by Lily Dale just outside of the community’s borders. It’s on Route 60 across from the Shur-Fine market. Lily Dale currently rents the land to private citizens.

Reuther said he was attending to find out about the process of getting a CDBG grant, with the understanding that it’s too late to start this year, but in the hopes of grabbing funding in 2027.

Watching his words carefully, he stated that many in nearby Cassadaga would oppose the housing project if it brought in people on welfare programs. Instead, the project is intended for young, working families and its units would be at market-affordable prices.

Reuther asked Pacos directly if he should proceed with exploring CDBG funding for the project. “I would say yes,” Pacos replied. “We have a shortage of houses in the area.”