MATTAPOISETT — Use it or lose it.

It’s the situation the town is put in with an approximately $75,000 grant they received from the state’s Coastal Zone Management to repair a run down pipe under Mattapoisett Neck Road that connects a salt marsh to Mary’s Cove.

In order for the money to be used, the town has to match the grant by 25%. 

So at a Nov. 24 Selectmen’s meeting, the Board approved a match of $24,996.73 so that the town doesn’t lose the grant.

At a Nov. 17 Select Board meeting, Highway Surveyor Barry Denham went before the Select Board, the Finance Committee and the Capital Planning Committee to ask for the match to a nearly $75,000 grant from the state Coastal Zone Management to repair a culvert on Mattapoisett Neck Road.

Denham explained there’s a pipe on the road that runs from a salt marsh to Molly’s Cove that has holes in it that have been repaired before. The decaying pipe has also caused a sinkhole in the road.

If left unrepaired, it could eventually shut down Mattapoisett Neck Road.

The approximately $100,000 would only cover the engineering costs, and Denham would apply again for the grant to cover the construction costs.

Selectmen delayed the decision so that Town Administrator Michael Lorenco could get in touch with the state to see if there could be a grant extension in order to have the funding come from a vote at Spring Town Meeting.

After a call with Coastal Zone Management, Lorenco told Selectmen that the state typically doesn’t offer extensions, so it would be unlikely for the town to get one.