Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 4/25/2022
BELCHERTOWN – With Town Meeting just weeks away, the Belchertown Community Preservation Committee (CPC) discussed projects set to be voted on at Town Meeting, and challenges with previous grants not being spent.
With one project currently on hold and the money remaining unspent, committee member Megan Manitsas said she was concerned about waiting on some projects.
“We held the library for the window for a few years too so I am always a little hesitant to say after two years if you don’t use the money you can apply for it again,” she said.
Michael Hofler, who serves on the committee as a member of the Planning Board, said grant recipients need to be held accountable for the money.
“Where there is no activity being shown, ask for a formal status report so the applicant has to come back and say in writing here is the situation and why we haven’t spent the money yet, but we need accountability,” he said. “We need something better than just a one-way flow of the dollars and then we lose control.”
Committee Vice Chair Linda Leduc said grant recipients should be required to report on their progress for their projects.
“How is it that we disperse funds with no match required back and it is our job to then seek information as to whether they are complete or if they’re not, why haven’t they spent the money? I think we should write in as a requirement of the application that some level of reporting is required. You get free money, you have an obligation to report,” she said.
Leduc added that the committee needs to be aware if money is not being spent.
“Every project is different and if in any case if something is not moved ahead to spend any dollars then we need to assess whether they are actively exercising their end of the bargain,” she said.
She said the committee could institute a similar process like the Planning Board has with special permits. In that case, the permit has an expiration date within a year unless the permit holder is actively exercising the right of the permit. If it is not being exercised, the board can review the permit.
After Hofler suggested requiring a bi-annual report from the recipient, committee Chair James Natle said the committee could implement a deadline where progress on a project must be made.
“At that point, every six months, if things are not moving after a year or two, we can say those funds can be better spent and you don’t have all your ducks in a row, maybe you can come back in another year and reapply again,” he said.
Hofler added that after enough time has passed, the CPC could go to the Select Board to void the grant agreement.
Manitsas said she was all for requiring reporting for grant recipients.
“You’re not asking for $5, all of these grants are thousands of dollars, I don’t think the volunteer should be chasing you down, it should be part of your responsibility if you want the money to earn it,” she said.
One upside to the current way the grants are handled is the grant money is not given out until the recipient is racking up expenses for the project while the money is secured by the town.
While no motion was required, the committee agreed to continue looking at ways to improve how grants are handled.
The committee also gave a brief overview of the projects set to be voted on at Annual Town Meeting on May 9, which includes a gravestone restoration project, new pickleball courts to be built at the Chestnut Hill Community School recreation area, the purchase of two parcels in the Dubois Forest and window replacements at the historical property located at 29 Main St.
The Belchertown Community Preservation Committee next meets on May 17.