The Community Preservation Committee on Thursday voted unanimously to approve the funding request by the Open Space Preservation Commission’s for $35,500 to purchase the back parcel of 89 Saddle Hill Road.
Also known as the Casucci property, the purchase would allow for trail connectivity and augments other area open space parcels. The approval came with the conditions that money from a previously awarded state grant would cover administrative, legal and surveying fees and would expire on July 1, 2026, unless the CPC extends the date. Another condition called for a conservation restriction be placed on the land within five years that would allow for trails to be constructed.
“That legal description says that it doesn’t come out of the open space bucket,” chair Ken Weismantel explained. He noted that the money would come from a $140,000 surplus from a state grant received when the Abbott property was purchased. The money “has been sitting in the coffers for a long time,” according to Weismantel, and the Casucci land purchase is “an allowable use” for it.
Another parcel that had been considered for purchase by the OSPC was known as the Canty property. Weismantel told the committee that there was another buyer for the land, which negated the funding request being placed on the Annual Town Meeting warrant. The committee voted unanimously not to include the request.
As he compiled the articles that the CPC will place on the warrant, Weismantel discovered that the funding request for an adaptive playground at the Marathon School had been referred to previously as an inclusive playground. The CPC previously voted to recommend contributing $300,000 toward the $1.2 million project.
Said Weismantel: “I think we need to get the terminology right.”
He added that the $300,000 toward the project that originally was intended to come from the undesignated fund, which accounts for 60% of the CPC’s budget, now will come from the recreation bucket. The committee voted unanimously to approve this measure and the wording change.
The Parks & Recreation Department previously had requested $412,500 for an access road to be planned and constructed from Fruit Street to the proposed parking lot for the new Pyne Field cricket and baseball athletic fields. Because this funding no longer is needed from CPC, it freed up money in the recreation bucket for the $300,000 adaptive playground request to be drawn from there.
Under the Community Preservation Act that was signed in 2000, Massachusetts communities may add a surcharge on top of their local property taxes to fund open space, historic preservation, outdoor recreation and affordable housing projects. The current rate for Hopkinton is 2%. At least 10% of CPA funding must be spent on each of these four categories, with the rest available for any category. The CPC administers the allocation of these funds based on submitted proposals and makes recommendations for approval at May’s Annual Town Meeting.
The hearing was continued until the next CPC meeting on Feb. 20, which Weismantel said would be brief.
Before the meeting closed, Weismantel said he will be going before the Capital Improvement Committee at its virtual meeting on Monday to present the projects it has approved for funding. The Center School reuse project funding request for $600,000 for a planning study is expected to be the main focus.
On Tuesday, the Select Board passed an article for the Annual Town Meeting warrant for the long-term lease of part of the Center School to “a non-profit arts and/or community organization.” This clears the way for the Hopkinton Center for the Arts to make a bid on the project.
In previous discussions about the $10 million building rehabilitation project, the Hopkinton Center for the Arts proposed contributing $4 million for additional classroom space as part of a public/private partnership with the town. The town would use the remainder of the building for community meeting space as well as office space for the Parks & Recreation Department and Youth & Family Services.
Weismantel said Kelly Grill, the HCA’s executive director, has started an aggressive fundraising campaign for HCA’s share of the project’s cost.
0 Comments