In a unanimous decision, the Community Preservation Committee voted Thursday night to halt further spending of CPC funds on engineering plans for an adaptive playground project.

Chair Ken Weismantel explained the reason for suspending the expenditures, citing concern over whether the project would get support from the town.

“They should not be spending to make more bid documents until we know we have a project,” said Weismantel.

Vice chair Eric Sonnett agreed. “We need to quit spending money until we can figure out if they can do the project,” he said.

The Adaptive Playground Committee and the School Department submitted a request for funding as the CPC began its application review process for fiscal year 2026 in October. The project is estimated to cost around $1.2 million to construct.

The CPC provided the School Department a $100,000 grant to conduct design and engineering studies after declining a $1 million funding request in 2023. The committee has continued to push back against funding the whole project, arguing that the playground is a School Department project and should be funded through the schools.

In a compromise, the committee voted in November to recommend $300,000 of CPC funds be set aside for the playground project. The town will vote on the recommendation at Annual Town Meeting in May.

Thursday night’s vote suspended the $100,000 grant provided to the School Department. Weismantel said $61,000 of the grant already had been spent, and he preferred the committee be frugal with the remaining balance.

“Quite frankly, if the town isn’t going to go for the balance of [the project], I would rather have $39,000 and put it toward something else,” he said.

Parks & Recreation Commission liaison Dan Terry echoed Weismantel’s concerns.

“I think we’re enthusiastic about the project, but at this point, it’s not prudent to spend any more money,” Terry said.

McFarland-Sanger House project closed

After some disagreement about funding for the historic McFarland-Sanger House, the CPC voted to end the project’s funding. 

“There’s nobody in charge of it,” said Weismantel.

The house, which sits on Lumber Street, reportedly is one of the oldest houses in town. A lack of water and sewer connections along with grading issues make the property difficult to live in or sell. 

The town currently owns the house. A proposal was approved nine years ago to restore the building’s facade, but no progress has been made toward those renovations.

In July, the CPC agreed to submit a letter to the Select Board requesting information about the town’s plan for the property. 

Sonnett reported that the committee never received a response. However, he pushed back against Weismantel’s motion to close out the project.

“The only money that’s left is $9,000 to handle any emergencies,” he said. He warned that if the house remained unrenovated, damage from weather events could be irreversible. 

Other committee members did not share Sonnett’s perspective.

“The town has facilities money that pays for that now,” said Weismantel. “Anything more on the Sanger house is wasted money.”

Terry also was in favor of closing out. “The applicant certainly can reapply for funds for further work,” he noted.

The CPC voted 8-1 to end funding for the McFarland-Sanger house. Sonnett was the sole holdout.

Committee transfers trail projects to new Trails Committee

CPC members briefly discussed the status of existing trail projects before voting on a motion to transfer the management of funds for those projects to the new Trails Committee.

Before the Select Board disbanded the Upper Charles Trail Committee and the Trails Coordination and Management Committee in September, both organizations were working on projects funded through CPC grants. 

Members disagreed on whether the CPC should close out any projects that had low balances or were near completion.

“Let the new committee figure that out,” said member Steve Levandosky.

The motion — which passed unanimously — transferred the management of seven existing project funds to the new Trails Committee. These include projects such as trailhead parking for trails on Ash Street and Pond Street, a segment of the Upper Charles Trail and a trail for middle school cross country.