Committee to finalize CPA spending requests

Update: The January 20 meeting of the Community Preservation Committee was postponed. The committee will consider spending proposals at its next meeting on Monday, February 3.

After a busy year of acclimation, training, and information gathering following the adoption of the Community Preservation Act in November 2012, the nine-member Canton Community Preservation Committee is hoping to finalize its first-ever set of spending recommendations when it reconvenes at Pequitside Tavern on Monday, January 20, beginning at 7:10 p.m.

As of last week, a total of seven project proposals were still being considered for varying amounts of CPA funding following an initial screening process and a series of public hearings that took place throughout the month of December. The committee must now decide which of these projects — and how much of the available funds — to put before voters at the May town meeting.

An optional state law, the CPA enables participating municipalities to set aside funds for the preservation of open space, historic resources, affordable housing, and outdoor recreation. Funds are raised locally through a surcharge on property tax bills and matched annually at a certain percentage through a statewide CPA trust.

As a first-year participant in the program, Canton is not yet eligible for the state matching funds, leaving the town with approximately $410,000 in available monies for the upcoming fiscal year.

Of that figure, $20,000 has to be set aside for administrative costs, a portion of which will be used to hire a part-time CPA manager to assist with clerical and other administrative duties.

The CCPC can then recommend spending all or a portion of the remaining balance, as long as 10 percent is used or set aside for each of the following categories: open space, historic preservation and affordable housing (no minimum percentage is required for outdoor recreation).

Ultimately, the committee will have to make some tough choices, as the total amount being requested this year is somewhere between $475,000 and $484,000.

At least one of the proposals — a request for $6,000 to conduct an inventory of historic homes on Sherman Street — may not even be eligible for the funding because the request came from a private citizen group, the Sherman Street Neighborhood Association, which is not a legal entity or a registered nonprofit. According to state law, public funds in Massachusetts cannot be used by private entities for private purposes.

The largest request, submitted by the School Committee and Board of Selectmen, is for $260,000 for repairs to the CHS tennis courts and falls under the category of outdoor recreation. Both boards plan to contribute additional capital resources to the project, which has been deemed a top priority following the recommendations outlined by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) in its re-accreditation report released last spring.

Under the category of affordable housing, the Canton Housing Authority has submitted two requests for the existing CHA property on Pequit Street: one for $30,000 to replace external electrical boxes and one for $63,700 to upgrade the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors from a battery-operated system to a hardwired system.

The remaining three proposals all involve historical preservation. The town’s DPW and Historical Commission have asked for $74,000 to clean and stabilize 89 grave markers at Canton Corner Cemetery. Veterans Agent Tony Andreotti has requested between $38,000 and $47,000 to restore the Civil War statue at Canton Town Hall so that it can be placed back outside on its pedestal, and the Canton Historical Society has requested $2,700 to preserve the Wild Goose Chase friendship quilt, which was made by several prominent Canton women around 1853.

CCPC member George Comeau, who represents the Historical Commission, said the committee can choose to recommend some of the projects in full, or “portions of projects,” and they can also save some of the funds for future years. Their recommendations are then passed on to town meeting, where participants can approve, reject, or reduce — but not increase — the suggested expenditures by a majority vote.

Generally speaking, Comeau said the aim of the CCPC is “not to kick projects out but to get projects in,” although they understand that resources are somewhat limited in the first year. “At this point,” he said, “we’re looking at trying to get the most bang for our buck.”

Looking to the future, Comeau expects the excitement for the program and the number of project proposals to grow exponentially, bolstered by recent changes to the CPA legislation and an infusion of cash into the CPA trust.

In the past year alone, in fact, the Department of Revenue has nearly doubled its statewide distribution percentage — up from 26.8 percent in 2012 to 52.2 percent in 2013 — and lawmakers have indicated their “full intention” to continue the increased funding in future years, according to the nonprofit Community Preservation Coalition.

For Canton, that translates into an additional $100,000 or more every year to put toward community improvements.

Comeau, for one, sees endless possibilities for the town’s new funding source. “It’s a real winner,” he said of the CPA.

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Posted by Jay Turner on Jan 16 2014. Filed under News, Town Government. Both comments and pings are currently closed.