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Date: 4/4/2022
MONSON — The Monson Community Preservation Committee (CPC) recently asked the public for feedback in a short survey, which will be used in creating a plan to guide the allocation of future CPA funds.
Leslie Duthie, member of the CPC, said the group has been active since 2007. “Over that time, we have focused on ‘low hanging fruit’ that needs addressing,” she said. This includes housing, open space preservation, historic restoration and outdoor recreation, all of which are funded through the CPC’s preservation funds.
Duthie said the CPC has rules and regulations of acts to follow. For instance, they can’t do maintenance, but are allowed to make restorations.
“We have done quite a few projects over the years,” said Duthie. One of their largest projects was the restoration of Memorial Hall, which they appropriated $1.5 million for. As this building, along with several others, are utilized for various events in town, Duthie said, “We have to do preservation of these buildings to keep them in good shape.”
In addition to this project, a large portion of funding was put toward the repair of town records. Duthie said the town hall offices used to be in Memorial Hall, along with all of the records stored in the basement, leaving them in poor condition. Roughly $200,000 was spent to restore these records that are now kept in permanent books, in a climate controlled space.
Duthie noted that some spending has been put toward housing, although this is “difficult” and “very costly.”
Over the past 14 years, Duthie said almost $2 million was spent on historic preservation. In comparison to the others, she said the CPC has spent roughly $750,000 on open space and about $600,000 for recreation.
“Historic tends to be expensive,” said Duthie. “We have to adhere to standards and want to make sure [we are] preserving historic nature as well.”
The survey that was open for almost two months, received over 200 responses from Monson residents. The CPC hired JM Goldson as a consultant and they suggested conducting a survey. Duthie said Goldson has done CPC plans for other towns and “has a good idea” on what Monson needs. “They helped to guide us,” and plan for the future, she added.
JM Goldson was responsible for creating the survey and collecting the data. Now that the survey is complete, they will review all of the information and develop a plan to move forward.
Some of the questions in the survey were about the community, recreational/open space usage, historical buildings and more. Prior to this survey, Duthie said the town also did an Open Space Plan survey that covered land conservation and outdoor recreation, although the CPC covers more than that.
She explained that open space makes them eligible for grant funding. The town has an Open Space and Recreation Plan that goes from 2022 through 2029, “that makes state funding available for purchase of open space [conservation] lands and recreation,” said Duthie.
On the other hand, the Community Preservation plan is separate, and won’t have a start or end date, but rather help to guide the committee’s spending for the future.
“These surveys have helped with properties and trails for different parts of Monson,” said Duthie. For instance, she said it has provided people throughout the town with more open space options. Additionally, Duthie said there are “North-South corridors” that make traveling from one end of town to the other easier and also helps wildlife preservation.
Each year, the CPC obtains their funds from a surcharge collection on people’s taxes. Duthie said all of the money is matched by state funding. “If we put money in the pot, the state matches it,” she said.
“That’s the critical part of having CPC,” Duthie continued. Although it might cost roughly $7,000 a year, it’s a “dollar for dollar match,” she said. “It’s like getting free money from the state.”
She went on to say that this funds them for projects they typically don’t have funding for. For instance, if the town wanted a pickleball court or a new baseball field, they would be able to get them with the assistance of these funds.
Reminder Publishing will provide additional information on the CPA survey once results have been reviewed.