Public Hearing Scheduled for Community Preservation Projects

By Kim Siebert MacPhail

On Thursday, September 27, at 7:30 pm, the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) will hold its twice-yearly public hearing to review the list of projects slated for recommendation at the upcoming fall Town Meeting on Tuesday, November 13^th. While Community Preservation funds are amassed from a combination of state funds derived from property transaction fees and a voluntary 3% surcharge on Bedford’s property taxes, projects can only go forward once Town Meeting has approved them.
Projects using CP funds must fit one or more of the following categories to be eligible: Open Space, Recreation, Affordable Housing, or Historic Preservation. By law, at least 10% of each year’s total Community Preservation revenue must be either allocated or set aside for future use…

At their meeting on September 11^th, the Community Preservation Committee endorsed an Open Space proposal from the Conservation Commission to fund a $3,500 land surveying project that will delineate boundary lines between Jordan Conservation Land, Hartwell Forest, and private property abutters.The surveying project will be one of three projects to be reviewed at the hearing on September 27.

[To read about the proposed land surveying project, visit: https://thebedfordcitizen.wordpress.com/2012/09/13/community-preservation-committee-considers-funds-to-survey-boundary-lines/ ]

The other two projects currently on the list to be discussed are a request for reimbursement of a $75,000 “loan” from the CP fund to the Town that was used to cover a higher than expected project bid for the Old Reservoir/Ring Well project, and a $150,000 Recreation project about which details are not yet available.

In 2001, Bedford was the first municipality in the Commonwealth to adopt the Community Preservation Act. Since that time, an impressive number of projects have been funded, including the preservation of Old Town Hall and the purchase of the 40+ acres at 350A Concord Road, formerly owned by Princeton Properties.

Projects now in progress that were funded by the 2012 Annual Town Meeting last March are:

Historic Preservation

• Town Center Bond Payment  $211,900
• Town Center Wood Floor Replacement  $20,105
• Town Center Exterior Painting  $31,528
• Town Hall Multi-Purpose Room Rehabilitation   $76,865
• Job Lane House Reroofing   $30,000
• Old Water Supply Signage   $5,000
• Old Bedford Center National Register   $5,000

Open Space

• Conservation Area Signs   $6,305
• 350A Concord Road Bond Payment   $502,937.50
• Old Water Supply Dam and Well Restoration   $281,213

Affordable Housing

• Affordable Housing Consultant   $22,500
• Affordable Housing Reserves   $137,500

To read more about the Community Preservation Act, visit: https://www.communitypreservation.org/