The Framingham City Council will receive 13 requests for funding.
FRAMINGHAM - The Framingham Community Preservation Committee (CPC) has recommended just over $3 million through the Community Preservation Act (CPA) for projects across the city.
A total of 15 applications totaling about $4 million were submitted during the 2024 fiscal year. Now, 13 have been recommended following a review from the CPC, which had a goal of capping CPA spending at $3 million. Following their process, the group unanimously approved $3,023,250 in CPA money, as their recommendations will soon be passed on to the City Council.
A rundown of the proposals and the recommendations can be found here.
A total of $210,000 were recommended by the CPC for community housing, with $120,000 allocated for Framingham’s Rental Subsidy Program and an additional $90,000 earmarked to rental subsidies for low-income families.
Meanwhile, about $1.3 million from the CPA was proposed by the committee for open space and recreation projects.
One of the largest recreation requests received by the CPC was funding for Reardon Park’s redesign project. The city’s Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Affairs Division initially requested $1 million for construction expenditures, though the CPC ultimately recommended $500,000.
However, CPC members noted that prior to a public hearing with the committee at the Memorial Building on Monday, March 18, Framingham Mayor Charlie Sisitsky informed members of the City Council’s Finance Subcommittee that the city’s budget for the 2025 fiscal year would be reduced. Reductions to the upcoming budget could include a deferral for the Reardon Park project, according to the group.
In turn, the CPC approved the $500,000 Reardon Park request on the condition that the scope of work would have to be approved within the annual budget. If the city keeps the project out of the FY25 budget, that CPA grant would be kicked back to the committee. Should the city appropriate money for Reardon Park, officials would also have to apply for a reimbursement grant related to the project.
“We’ve been through a long process,” CPC member Bob Merusi said during Monday’s meeting.
“We’ve studied everything, we’ve made the best decisions we could, and I think we should just follow through on the path that we’re going and just cut it short. If the City council doesn’t appropriate the money, the funding ends.”
Other recreation grants recommended by the CPC included $650,000 for accessible boardwalk construction work on the southern portion of the Carol Getchell Nature Trail, $51,250 for the preservation and rehabilitation of Waushakum Lake, $45,500 for fencing and storage at the Pratt Street Community Garden, $39,500 for the Cochituate Rail Trail’s ecological restoration, and $35,000 for improvements to the softball complex at Walsh Middle School and Dunning Elementary School.
Finally, the CPC recommended close to $1.5 million for historic preservation plans.
That batch of applications featured a $500,000 request for the preservation and reuse of Athenaeum Hall as well as the adjacent firehouse. It’s part of a phased proposal, as applicants for the money say that the preservation of the Athenaeum area would take multiple years.
Steve Weisman, who spoke during the public hearing on behalf of Friends of Saxonville, said that the Athenaeum project has been a long time coming; the hall has not been utilized by the public in close to 30 years.
“This is only phase one,” Weisman continued, “but I think it’s an important phase because it will demonstrate to the residents of Saxonville and the residents of the city as a whole that the city cares about its historic structures, and is willing to commit funds for their preservation and adapt them for use.”
Other historic preservation requests approved by the committee were $400,000 for the second phase of preserving the Edgell Grove Cemetery’s Tomb House, $260,000 for the Framingham History Center Academy Building’s restoration and improvements to the site’s accessibility, $200,000 for the historic preservation of the Memorial Building, and $132,000 for the restoration of Village Hall’s south wall.
Members of the CPC hope to get their recommendations on the City Council’s agenda at some point in April.
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On January 3 at the Massachusetts State House, Framingham Mayor Charlie Sisitsky officially signed control of the Thomas Danforth Building along Union Avenue over to the state Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance. Current plans are to develop the site into a regional justice center.
Esta semana no The Frame: o Finance Subcommittee ouve as mudanças propostas para as classificações e compensações de funcionários municipais, subsídios estaduais estão prontos para impulsionar programas de faculdade antecipada na Framingham State University e no Massachusetts Bay Community College, e uma revisão dos eventos recentes na State House: a nova bandeira de Framingham está pronta para ser exibida em Beacon Hill, enquanto o estado recebeu o controle de um prédio no centro da cidade para abrir caminho para um novo centro regional de justiça.
This week on The Frame: the Finance Subcommittee listens to proposed changes to municipal employee classifications and compensation, state grants are set to boost early college programs at Framingham State University and Massachusetts Bay Community College, and a review of recent events at the State House: Framingham's new flag is set to be displayed on Beacon Hill, while the state has been given control of a downtown building to pave the way for a new regional justice center.
