Ten modest projects and services for the next fiscal year are on the agenda of the Community Preservation Committee’s virtual public hearing at 7:10 pm on Thursday evening.
The Zoom link for the meeting is https://www.bedfordma.gov/community-preservation-committee/agenda/cpc-agenda-15. Please note time change: Public portion of the meeting begins at 7:10 pm, not at 7:30 as first reported.
Community preservation funds are collected as a surcharge of 3 percent of the real estate tax. A percentage of local collections is matched by state funds. Spending is limited to three categories: affordable housing, historic preservation, and open space-recreation.
Three of the 10 projects are new, two are for continuation of services, and the other five were indefinitely postponed by the 2020 annual town meeting. That warrant included several articles delayed in order to expedite business during an outdoor town meeting in July.
The most interesting among the new proposals are two to expand recreation opportunities: expansion of pickleball courts and lighting at the tennis courts near John Glenn Middle School. The Arbor Resources Committee has also requested equipment to measure gas leaks.
Expenditures to continue existing programs are an allocation to the Regional Housing Services Office and funding the life management program of the Bedford Housing Authority.
The projects postponed from last year’s warrant are more ambitious. The most expensive is funding of continuing renovation and rehabilitation of Old Town Hall. Also on the list are rehabilitation of Field H, which is near the intersection of Railroad Avenue and the future Minuteman Bikeway extension.
There is also a proposal to replace the concrete apron leading into the shallow end of the pond at Springs Brook Park, and to repair the skate park behind Town Center. The other project is a boardwalk connecting two trails by spanning a wet area of the Hartwell Town Forest.
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