Six Community Preservation Projects Heading to Town Meeting for OK

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Photo: Clay Pit Pond and the location of the intergenerational path.

Projects encompassing a path for all ages, preserving the town’s history and sprucing up community play areas will seek Town Meeting approval as the Community Preservation Committee presents its list of recommended projects to the town’s legislative body next month.

Now in its fourth year, the Committee receives requests for grants that are funded by a 1.5 percent surcharge on property taxes (about $156 for an average household) which was approved by Belmont voters in November 2010. On average, Belmont generates approximately $1.2 million annually to fund CPC projects.

Funding is restricted for use in four categories: community housing, historic resources, open space and recreation. The committee is responsible for reviewing all submitted applications and send to Town Meeting its recommendations for funding.

For this coming fiscal year, the six projects seeking Town Meeting approval are:

  1. Construction of Intergenerational Walking Path at Clay Pit Pond: $228,350 
  2. Preserving Belmont’s Original Vital Records: $80,000 
  3. Digitizing Belmont’s Town Meeting Records: $85,000 
  4. Town Hall Exterior Railings Improvements: $75,000 
  5. PQ Park Playground Project: $25,000 
  6. Winn Brook Tennis Courts: $325,000 

TOTAL: $818,350

After discussions with Town Officials on Tuesday, April 18, the CPC recommendations vote will place on the first night of Town Meeting, Monday, May 2 at Belmont High School.

For more detailed information on each project, head to the Community Preservation Committee’s web page on the town’s website.

Preservation Committee Approves $818K in Grants; Next Stop, Town Meeting

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Photo: PQ Playground.

The Community Preservation Committee will recommend to the annual Town Meeting in May spending a little more than $800,000 on six projects set to preserve the town’s historical records, enhance the open space around a landmark and provide recreation to town residents.

The committee voted on Wednesday, Jan. 13 to approved six out of the seven final applications totaling $818,350. A $50,000 request to the Conservation Commission to create a fund to purchase land was withdrawn by the commission before the vote. 

The list of approved projects include:

• Construction of an Intergenerational Walking Path at Clay Pit Pond. Sponsor: Mary Trudeau, agent, Belmont Conservation Commission. $228,350.

• Preserving Belmont’s Original Vital Records. Sponsor: Ellen Cushman, Belmont Town Clerk. $80,000.

• Digitizing Belmont’s Town Meeting Records, Sponsor: Ellen Cushman, $85,000.

• Town Hall Exterior Railings Improvements. Sponsor: Gerald R. Boyle, Facilities Dept, $75,000.

• Pequossette Playground Revitalization study. Sponsor: Julie Crockett, Friends of PQ Park, $25,000.

• Reconstruction of Winn Brook tennis courts, Sponsor: Jay Marcotte, Belmont DPW, $325,000

The projects sponsors and the CPA committee are scheduled to meet with the Warrant Committee on March 2, said CPC member Floyd Carman while meetings with the Board of Selectmen and Capital Budget Committee are being arranged. 

Adopted by Belmont voters in 2010, the Community Preservation Act fund is financed by a 1.5 percent property tax surcharges  and annual distributions received from the state’s “Massachusetts Community Preservation Trust Fund.”

Seven Projects Make Initial Cut for $1M in Community Preservation Funding

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Photo: Clay Pit Pond

Repairing another of town’s tennis courts, installing a walking path and revitalizing a well-known park are some of the seven projects that past muster with the Community Preservation Committee after it announced which applications were approved in the preliminary round of assessments.

The seven applications moving forward in the CPC process are:

Accepted:

  • $75,000 Town Hall Exterior Railings Improvements (Gerald R. Boyle, Town of Belmont – Facilities Dept.)
  • $50,000 Conservation Fund (Mary Trudeau, Agent, Belmont Conservation Commission
  • $250,000 Construction of Intergenerational Walking Path at Clay Pit Pond, (Mary Trudeau, Agent Belmont Conservation Commission)
  • $150,000 PQ Park Revitalization (Julie Crockett, Friends of PQ Park)
  • $325,000 Winn Brook Tennis Courts (Jay Marcotte, Town of Belmont – DPW)
  • $100,000 Preserving Belmont’s Original Vital Records (Ellen Cushman, Town of Belmont – Town Clerk)
  • $60,000 Digitizing Belmont’s Town Meeting Records (Ellen Cushman, Town of Belmont – Town Clerk)

The only project that did not make the initial cut was the largest request this year: $1 million to renovate Hittinger Field – which is adjacent to Belmont High School – from a request from Belmont Youth Baseball and Softball Association, which is adjacent to Belmont High School, by replacing the grass field with a Turf surface. The rejection came after it was determined artificial turf is prohibited under Massachusetts General Law from receiving Community Preservation Act funds.

The remaining applicants are now required to submit more detailed proposals to the committee. A final committee recommendation on funding any of the remaining projects will take place early in 2015. The 2016 annual Town Meeting will have the final say on allocating CPA funds.

The Community Preservation Act was adopted by Belmont voters in 2010. The fund is financed by property tax surcharges and annual distributions received from the State “Massachusetts Community Preservation Trust Fund.”

Got a Project? Need Funding? The CPA Could Be Your Answer

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Photo: The Underwood Pool, finance in part with a grant from the Community Preservation Committee.

Do you or your community group have a great idea for a town-wide project but can’t think how to pay for it?

If that’s the case, your answer could be in applying for the fourth-round of funding from the town’s Community Preservation Committee.

According to Town Treasurer and CPC member Floyd Carman, the committee will have approximately $1.2 million to distribute to organizations or town agencies in the fiscal year 2017, beginning July 1, 2016.

“It’s roughly the same amount as last year,” said Carman after the committee’s monthly meeting on Aug. 12.

Using money from a 1.5 percent surcharge on property taxes and state contributions, the CPC supports a broad range of proposals involving:

  • acquiring or improving open space and recreation land,
  • rehabbing or preserving historic sites, and
  • promoting community housing.

In the past, the CPC has provided funds for the new Underwood Pool, restoring the Pequossette Park tennis courts, first-time homebuyer’s assistance and the electrical upgrade of town-owned housing.

Individuals and groups interested in learning more about the process can attend a public meeting at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 17, at Town Hall where the committee will answer questions and review the extensive process in which projects are evaluated.

Preliminary applications are due on Oct. 4 and final applications are expected on Dec. 4. The CPC will make its final decision on applications on Jan. 15, 2016. The accepted application will then go before the annual Town Meeting in April for final approval.

The new CPA applications are available on the Town of Belmont’s website.

For more information, contact the Community Preservation Hotline at 617-993-2774 or Michael Trainor at mtrainor@belmont-ma.gov

Preview of the Second Night of Belmont Town Meeting, May 6

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Photo: 

The second night of the 156th edition of Belmont Town Meeting takes place on Wednesday, May 6 as the meeting reconvenes at 7 p.m. at Belmont High School to hopefully complete the remaining non-budgetary issues before the 290-member legislative body.

The evening will revolve around debate on the $1.1 million in grants coming from the Community Preservation Committee.

They include:

  • Belmont Veterans Memorial Project: $150,000,
  • Wellington Station exterior restoration and rehabilitation: $26,300,
  • Electrical upgrade at units owned by the Belmont Housing Authority: $522,500,
  • Digitization of historic Belmont newspapers from 1890 to 1983: $25,000.
  • Rehabilitation and restoration of the 1853 Homer House: $100,000.
  • Upgrade and restore the Pequossette Park: $295,000.

There will likely be questions from Town Meeting on public money being used on a private residence such as the Homer House (owned by the Belmont Woman’s Club) and why residents tax money (the CPC receives its funding from a surtax on property taxes) is being used to repair the electrical wiring at buildings which are run by the state. 

In addition, a Special Town Meeting will be convened to allow for the transfer of money from reserve accounts to pay down the deficits in the school department (about a half-a-million dollars due largely to skyrocketing special education costs) and about $750,000 in the snow removal account. 

Winn Brook Tennis Courts Aced Off Town’s Community Preservation Funding List

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The town committee appointed to dole out community dollars for a wide-range of projects decided last night to play singles and not doubles when it comes to funding repairs to a pair of Belmont tennis courts.

The town’s Community Preservation Committee rejected a request from the town for $295,000 to reconstruct and repair the tennis courts at the Winn Brook Elementary School at its monthly meeting held on Wednesday, Jan. 14 at Town Hall.

There is good news to the tennis-playing residents in the southern end of Belmont as the committee approved sending to Town Meeting a proposal to spend the same $295,000 to upgrade and restore the Pequossette Park (also known as the PQ) tennis courts located behind the VFW building off Trapelo Road.

[Under Belmont’s charter, only the 290-member Town Meeting, which meets each spring, can allocate funds from the Community Preservation Act account.]

The debate among the eight members was not that reconstruction work is required at both sites – the group agreed the courts need repairs for their long-term survival – but whether the courts are utilized by residents to warrant the money being spent.

“I believe there’s too much capacity in the number of tennis courts,” said member Floyd Carman. “It’s a distribution problem,” said Carman.

The committee agreed a comprehensive usage survey of the town’s tennis court inventory should be conducted before the community spends another dollar on repairs.

But putting together that study will require forming an oversight group – either within the Recreation Department or as an offshoot of an existing committee – and formulating the criteria to be used will be difficult, because, as Andy Rojas of the Board of Selectmen noted, “the study is time intensive because you’ll need to carefully monitor the courts’ use.”

While voting down the Winn Brook courts, the committee agreed to move forward with the PQ repairs “because it is geographically isolated, and it’s in worse shape,” said Carman, adding the town has only a limited recreation presence in the area south of Trapelo Road.

It is hoped the study will determine the maximum number of courts required for residents and school use, and whether any current courts can be transformed into locations with other activities, such as roller hockey or a skate park, said Carman.

The committee did approve sending to the annual Town Meeting other requests:

  • Belmont Veterans Memorial Project: $150,000,
  • Wellington Station exterior restoration and rehabilitation: $26,300,
  • Electrical upgrade at units owned by the Belmont Housing Authority: $522,500,
  • Digitization of historic Belmont newspapers from 1890 to 1983: $25,000 and
  • Rehabilitation and restoration of the 1853 Homer House: $100,000.

While approving to send the Homer House request to Town Meeting, the committee did attach conditions to that request. One is to have the Belmont Woman’s Club – the building’s owner – put in writing what constitutes “public access” to the historic structure in terms of hours it will be open to residents and how much of the building can be toured.

“Public access is important,” said CPC’s Anthony Ferrante. “I want more specifics.”

In addition, the committee will discuss with Belmont Town Counsel George Hall whether a clause can be written into the structure’s deed that will allow the town to recoup the money it spent on the house if the building is ever sold.

Approved by Belmont voters in November 2010, the Community Preservation Act fund is financed by property tax surcharges and an annual stipend from the state’s “Massachusetts Community Preservation Trust Fund.” The funds are used towards recreation, historic preservation, affordable housing and open space.

Tennis, Someone? Community Preservation Ponders Need for Court Repairs

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Does Belmont have too many tennis courts?

And who plays on them, and when?

While pondering the supply and demand of the 24 courts in town (with 22 actually available to be played on), the town’s Community Preservation Committee appeared willing at its monthly meeting held Wednesday, Dec. 10 to conduct an extensive study not just to answer those questions.

Wednesday’s meeting was to update the committee and possibly cast votes on the seven grant application seeking funding from the town’s Community Preservation Act account.

They include:

  • Belmont Veterans Memorial Project: $150,000
  • Wellington Station exterior restoration and rehabilitation: $26,300
  • Electrical upgrade at units owned by the Belmont Housing Authority: $522,500
  • Winn Brook Tennis Courts: $295,000
  • Pequossette (PQ) Park Tennis Courts: $250,000
  • Digitization of historic Belmont newspapers from 1890 to 1983: $25,000
  • Rehabilitation and restoration of the 1853 Homer House: $100,000.

Approved by Belmont voters in November 2010, the Community Preservation Act fund is financed by a property tax surcharges and annual stipends from the state’s “Massachusetts Community Preservation Trust Fund.” The funds must be targeted towards recreation, historic preservation, affordable housing and open space. 

The tennis courts at the two locations – Winn Brook is adjacent to Winn Brook Elementary and Joey’s Park while PQ is behind the VFW building off Trapelo Road – were “patched up” about five years ago and, according to the recently retired Director of Public Works Peter Castanino, are ready to more extensive reconstruction.

“We are now in the sweet spot … where the courts have reached their useful life,” Belmont Town Administrator David Kale told the committee. The renovation projects were put forward by the Board of Selectmen.

With the money available and the timing optimum, Kale said “[w]e can be proactive to reconstruct the courts so they are available for the next 30 years.”

Yet CAC member Anthony Ferrante, the Recreation Commission appointee to the committee, didn’t believe the two locations are in such desperate condition for the committee (and town taxpayers) to spend $300,000 before more is known about the courts usage and popularity.

“The sense of urgency is not there,” said Ferrante. 

Kale noted that point of view is valid only if Ferrante assumes that future money will be available which in the current economic climate is a big “if.”

“Strike while the funds are available and … be ahead of the curve as we were with Harris Field and the Underwood Pool,” said Kale, referring to the $850,000 reconditioning of Belmont High Schools main field and the more than $2.2 million the committee spent on the new Underwood Pool complex.

Ferrante countered, saying the Underwood experience – in which a building committee was created to create a detailed building and financing program – would direct the CPC towards a comprehensive study before committing limited resources to a recreational facility that may or may not be used by sufficient number of residents.

“Let’s first take a look at all the tennis courts and come to a conclusion on how many are needed,” said Ferrante.

“My gut says PQ needs to be reconstructed but I need more than my gut saying this. Planning is not taking place,” he said.

While agreeing with the premise of a study, member Charles Clark said he would vote to approve funding to reconstruct the PQ courts since the nearby area has undergone renovation including the repair of Trapelo Road, the adjacent sidewalks and the construction of new housing. 

But for Farrante, the lack of any hard data – unlike the Town of Lexington which compiles numbers on activity with its online permit system – results in a vote  a vote based on conjecture.

“There is my opinion and your opinion but not a lot of facts for the decision,” said Farrante.

But even if the CPC decides to conduct a master plan of the tennis facilities in town, “I’ll bet you dollars to donuts that PQ will survive even if you reduced the number of courts from 24 to 16,” said Belmont Treasurer and CPC member Floyd Carman, noting the PQ court is the only town recreational site in the Waverley Square area.

While the consensus at the meeting was that PQ would be funded this year, Winn Brook’s court would be put under a study’s microscope along with the other courts in town including those at Grove Street Playground, the High School, and the Chenery Middle School.

Yet Farrante was still critical of the process of spending funds without a solid factual reason to do so.

“I’m opposed to spending money simply because of inertia,” said Farrante.

The CPC decided to wait until its next meeting in January before voting on recommending funding applications for Town Meeting approval in May 2015.

Seven Projects Make First Cut for Community Preservation Funding

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Seven of eight projects passed the first test that could ultimately see them funded through the Community Preservation Committee.

On Wednesday, Oct. 8, the committee announced applications that were approved in the preliminary round of assessments.

The only project that did not make the initial cut was $170,000 to make the Press Box at Harris Field compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The committee decided the request did not fall under one of the four categories that CPA funds can be directed: historic preservation, open space, community housing and outdoor recreation. The press box – which is located on the top level of the main stands – has been closed since 2013 when it was determined those with mobile disabilities could not reach the area.

The seven applications that will be moving forward in the CPC process are:

  • Belmont Veterans Memorial Project: $150,000
  • Wellington Station exterior restoration and rehabilitation: $26,300
  • Electrical upgrade at units owned by the Belmont Housing Authority: $522,500
  • Winn Brook Tennis Courts: $295,000
  • Pequossette Tennis Courts: $250,000
  • Digitization of historic Belmont newspapers from 1890 to 1983: $25,000
  • Rehabilitation and restoration of the 1853 Homer House: $100,000.

Applicants are now required to submit more detailed proposals to the committee. A final committee recommendation on funding any of the remaining projects will take place early in 2015. The annual Town Meeting will have the final say on allocating CPA funds.

The Community Preservation Act was adopted by Belmont voters in 2010. The fund is financed by property tax surcharges and annual distributions received from the State “Massachusetts Community Preservation Trust Fund.”

Get In Line: Community Preservation Set Dates for Applying for Funding

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Do you have a project that could use a few dollars to complete?

Well, you may want to get in line to apply for what will be the third funding round from the town’s Community Preservation Committee which distributes the total of a 1.5 percent surcharge on property taxes and state funding for a wide-range of proposals involving acquiring or improving open space and recreation land, rehabbing or preserving historic sites and supporting community housing.

Preliminary applications for CPC funds will be available on July 1 from the committee. But already “eight or nine” groups have made inquires on the process, according to Floyd Carman, Belmont’s treasurer and committee’s clerk.

“Residents have seen the process work and now are thinking about it for their proposals,” said Carman.

And the committee will be holding a tidy amount of cash to help jump start projects.

At its monthly committee on Wednesday, June 11, the CPC estimates it will have a little more than $1.1 million to distribute to organizations or town agencies in the 2016 fiscal year beginning July 1, 2015, said Michael Trainor, the CPC coordinator.

That total could increase with the approval of an additional $25 million in additional state matching funds distributed across the state that could up Belmont’s total to $1.4 million, said Trainor.

But groups which believe simply by applying for CPC funding guarantees the money in their bank account will benefit attending the public meeting on Sept. 18 where the committee will answer questions and review the extensive process in which projects are evaluated.

Preliminary applications are due in on Sept. 30. A week later, on Oct. 8, the committee will make the first round of cuts. Groups whose proposals past muster will make a five-minute presentations and answer questions from the committee on Nov. 13. Final applications are due on Dec. 1.

The CPC will make its final decision on accepting or rejecting applications on Jan. 14, 2015.

In April, the CPC made its largest distribution by providing $2 million for the new Underwood Pool. But the committee usually allocates smaller amounts to such projects as $165,000 for the electrical upgrade of town housing, $8,700 to improve the irrigation system at the High School’s “JV” field and $67,000 for the second phase of the Butler School Playground project.

This fiscal year, Carman is advising the committee to create a “reserve” account, setting aside a specific amount annually to build up a funding source to use on acquisitions or projects exceeding the entire funding amount in any future year.

For more information, contact the Community Preservation Hotline at 617-993-2774 or Trainor at mtrainor@belmont-ma.gov