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CPC working hard to approve projects for Town Meeting vote

By Courtney Llewellyn

Reminder Assistant Editor



LONGMEADOW In its first year as a town-appointed group, the Community Preservation Committee has a large task to complete before the Feb. 28 deadline for Town Meeting warrant articles sift through the one dozen applications submitted and decide which projects would be the most important for the town of Longmeadow.

The Community Preservation Committee (CPC) first came about in June 2006, when residents voted to adopt a property tax surcharge of one percent, with revenues matched by state funds, in order to fund open space, historic preservation, community housing and recreation projects. This surcharge and use of funds is known as the Community Preservation Act (CPA). The CPC didn't come together until the summer of 2007, however, according to the committee's chair, Bill Hoff.

Town residents had until Dec. 3, 2007 to submit applications for projects to be considered for funding at the Spring 2008 Town Meeting. "There is no limit on the number of applications we can receive," Hoff explained. "The 12 we received is a good number, with a good cross-section of projects."

As this is the committee's first year determining which projects are chosen for funding, Hoff said it's "a learning experience."

The nine-member CPC, made up of interested residents and representatives from the town's Housing Authority, Park Board, Planning Board, Conservation Commission and Historical Commission, hosted a public hearing on the projects on Feb. 6. "Well over 50 people turned out for the public hearing," Hoff said. "It was our first public hearing, but we always have a public comment period at the beginning of each meeting as well."

The proposed project that garnered the most comments is the creation of a new synthetic multi-purpose athletic field at Longmeadow High School. The original proposed cost was $825,000 to be paid over a 10-year period. Jim Brennan, a presenter of the project, met with the CPC at their Feb. 13 meeting to discuss the health issues of the synthetic turf field.

The original proposal called for a "crumb rubber" field, which may cause a variety of short- and long-term health issues. "We're now looking at a non-toxic new field fill," Brennan told the committee, "which alleviates most if not all of the health concerns brought up with the crumb rubber field." However, the cost for the new fill would be approximately $60,000 more, Brennan added.

The athletic field has additional issues other than what it's made of. The CPC had to table a decision on the project at last week's meeting because they have yet to gain legal advice from Dave Martel, the Town Counsel, on whether CPA funds could be used for the field.

"One court ruling said you can't use CPA funds for a field," Hoff told Reminder Publications, "but other have said it's OK. The area in question has clearly been used as a field, even though it is considered open space. There has been a lot of support for the project, but if it is ruled a field, we probably won't be able to fund the project."

He added there is a lot of flexibility on what the committee can spend the funds on, but there are very stringent rules on what you cannot.

Thirty percent of CPA funds must equally be divided amongst open space, historic preservation and community housing projects, with the remaining 70 percent going toward recreational purposes.

"We're still debating it [the field] as a committee. It's a very muddy issue," Hoff stated.

Community input is still being gathered on the turf field, and CPC member Rebecca Townsend said the group received 33 e-mails regarding the project over a two-day period last week.

Other projects that were tabled included the Turner Park master plan and the Riverfront Park river access and recreation opportunity, both of which are awaiting legal advice. The Colony Hills streetlights and streetsigns restoration and the Community House painting and balustrade were tabled because of the debate over whether the projects are considered to be for preservation or for maintenance.

"The Colony Hills project is a great idea, but I'm not comfortable with the fact that it's not an historic district," Planning Board representative Roy Johansen said. "This could be the thing that pushes the envelope and gets them to apply to become one." The committee agreed that if approved, the Colony Hills community would have an 18-month period to register as an historic district or their CPA funds would be revoked.

The CPC approved the vital record preservation project and the Council on Aging patio project for the Town Meeting warrant at the meeting, voting down the open space fund preservation project, the construction assistance fund reservation project and the Greenwood splashpad project.

"All the projects have merit," CPC Vice-Chair Arlene Miller said. "Some are just more feasible than others."

The two remaining projects, the historical images of Longmeadow project and the game tables at the Senior Center project, were tabled for more discussion during this week's meeting, taking place on Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. in the School Committee Hearing Room in the high school.

"We're right where we thought we'd be at this point," Hoff said. "We're still working out some details, but we plan to have as much ready as possible by our next meeting." If it isn't, the CPC will meet one final time before their deadline on Feb. 27.

To view the full application for each project, visit www.longmeadow.org/towngovt/commpreservation.htm. The CPC is also still interested in collecting public comment, either in person at their next meeting or via e-mail at longmeadowcpc2007@yahoo.com.

"We're making sure we do as much public outreach as possible," Hoff said. "Our goal is to approve of projects that will be good for the town."