Seven Projects Recommended for Community Preservation Act Funding

FRAMINGHAM - The Framingham Community Preservation Committee (CPC) outlined their recommendations for projects eligible for funding through the Community Preservation Act (CPA) during their meeting on Monday, March 24.

Each year, the CPC recommends applications that are submitted by local residents and groups for initiatives that could benefit from CPA allocations. Money for these projects through the act is collected via property tax surcharges and matching funding from the state level.

After the review process began in November, the CPC determined that a total of seven projects were deemed complete. Those seven applications are being recommended by the body to receive a total of nearly $1.75 million in CPA assistance. The City Council has the final authority to approve or reject CPA applications.

“The Community Preservation Act requires that three areas be preserved: community housing, open space and outdoor recreation, and historic preservation,” CPC Chair Thomas Mahoney said at the Memorial Building on Monday.

“In this year’s program, we do have projects in each of the three protected categories.”

Jewish Family Services of Metrowest (JFS) could benefit from $100,000 for their rental subsidies initiative. Those dollars would be used to provide emergency rental aid to about 20 to 25 local, low-income families who are at risk of eviction and homelessness. The average family would receive roughly $4,000 through the grant, according to JFS’s application. The organization would work with Framingham Public Schools as well as other stakeholders to assess the needs of each family.

Meanwhile, $600,000 is being recommended by the CPC for the construction of four handicap accessible and ADA-compliant housing units within a pair of buildings at Carlson Crossing East. The application calls for site work, the installation of foundations, and other construction work at the site managed by the Framingham Housing Authority, as those additional units would be made available to low-income families with disabilities.

A splash pad at Cushing Memorial Park has been recommended to benefit from $500,000 in CPA money. That funding would be used for site prep, construction, plumbing, and more work for the creation of a splash pad to be used by local children and families.

Another potential outlet for CPA resources could be work along the Carol Getchell Nature Trail’s middle section, which may receive $105,000 for design, engineering, and permitting work to create an accessible trail that connects the north and south portions of the trail along the Sudbury River.

More recreational opportunities on local trails have been recommended to be allocated a total of $315,000 this year. With that money, the addition and renovation of things like ADA-compliance benches, boardwalks, picnic tables, and landscaping along the Cochituate Rail Trail, Wittenborg Woods, Mohawk-Chickatawbut Woods, and Arthur-Morency Woods would be funded.

Public comments during Monday’s CPC meeting regarding some of the recreational projects noted that the language of the recommendations to the City Council should ensure that all types of accessibility measures are included, a notion that members of the CPC agreed with.

“The application itself and everything about the application implies that we’re going to make it as accessible to as many people as possible—which includes disabled people, elderly people, children, less able, et cetera,” CPC member Steven DeNicola said in regards to the motion on the Carol Getchell Nature Trail.

Additionally, the Framingham History Center made a pair of requests for CPA money: $30,000 for woodwork restoration at the Edgell Memorial Library and $89,000 for a new fire alarm system at the Old Academy Building, which houses numerous historic artifacts.

Project applicants are required to meet certain conditions if they receive CPA funding, such as submissions of updates on their projects’ progress.

The CPC will submit their formal recommendations to the City Council, as members of the group hope to put these applications in front of local legislators next month.