Community Preservation Articles for Annual Town Meeting

By Elizabeth Hacala

There are three Community Preservation articles on the Annual Town Meeting warrant for your consideration this year.

Article 6 – Amend the Fiscal Year 2019 Community Preservation Budget – Article 6 asks Town Meeting to amend the FY2019 CPC budget from last Annual Town Meeting to add $17,459 for the Bedford Housing Authority Life Management Program appropriation. The current funding cycle for the BHA program was out of sync with the Town Meeting appropriation cycle and approval of this article would fund the program through June 30, 2019. Funding for Fiscal Year 2020 is included in Article 8.

Article 7 – Bond Authorization – Community Preservation – Fawn Lake – Article 7 seeks to bond $1.8M in order to perform hydraulic dredging and reclamation at Fawn Lake as well as replacement of a failing dam at the lake. Over the past several years there have been many attempts to address the fish kills and other water quality issues at Fawn Lake, including hydro-raking and herbicides. An ad hoc Fawn Lake committee was formed in 2015 to look at the lake and determine what if any steps could be taken.   The committee reviewed a variety of options to reclaim the lake and propose hydraulic dredging as the best option.

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The goal of the hydraulic dredging is to restore a significant portion of the lake to its original depth and condition and provide many decades of open water and a healthier environment for fish and other wildlife.

Fuller coverage of this project can be found  at https://thebedfordcitizen.org/2019/01/fawn-lake-dredging-among-community-preservation-committee-projects/

Article 8 Community Preservation Budget – Fiscal Year 2020 – Article 8 asks Town Meeting to consider the Community Preservation budget for Fiscal Year 2020. At the January 24 public hearing, the CPC voted the following projects for this year.

From FY2020 CPA funds:

  • CPA Administrative Needs ($10,000)
  • Affordable Housing Consultant ($35,000)
  • Bedford Housing Authority Life Management Program ($34,919)
  • Lantern Lane Pedestrian Bridge ($165,280)
  • Page Baseball Field Rehabilitation ($138,364)
  • Bedford Housing Authority Life Management Program ($34,919)
  • Lantern Lane Pedestrian Bridge ($165,280)
  • Page Baseball Field Rehabilitation ($138,364)

As well as payment of each of the existing CPA bonds:

  • Town Center ($157,650)
  • 350A Concord Road ($407,463)
  • Town Hall MEP Project ($100,300)
  • Liljegren Way/Mudge Way Athletic Fields ($123,500)
  • Bedford Village ($192,090)
  • Fawn Lake ($35,000)

Old Town Hall Renovations and Rehabilitation

In addition, the committee voted to recommend funding for the Old Town Hall Renovations and Rehabilitation from Historic Properties Preservation Fund balance in the amount of $452,000.

The Historic Properties Preservation Fund was established at the 2006 Annual Town Meeting under article 31 and was designed to provide for the long-term preservation of town-owned historic properties.  The original warrant language allows for the Selectmen or Historic Preservation Commission the ability to make “… an expenditure on any one project to be no more than $75,000 in any one Fiscal year, for the purpose of preservation, restoration, and/or rehabilitation of the municipally-owned historic properties…”.  Since this proposed appropriation exceeds that amount, town meeting approval is needed to proceed.

Click this link to view the Community Preservation Committee’s report to Town Meeting.

 

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