CPC seeks input on spending Preservation Act funds
Date: 5/1/2012
May 2, 2012By Debbie Gardner
debbieg@thereminder.comAGAWAM — A single theme dominated the Community Preservation Commission's (CPC) annual public hearing on April 25.
"We have to come up with a plan so we can spend [Community Preservation Act] money on what the town needs most," CPC Chairman Henry Kozloski said.
Kozloski outlined the purpose, available funds, previously supported and current CPC projects and the criteria for accepting proposals for CPC expenditures during the legally-required and sparsely attended meeting. City Councilor James Cichetti, former City Councilor Jill Messick, a handful of members of the town's Historic Commission and Kozloski's wife, Theresa, were the only attendees.
"It's very difficult," Kozloski said of the commission's efforts to solicit input from members of the town government regarding preservation projects. "We invited all elected officials by letter and all non-elected officials by letter and very few are here."
At issue that night was how best to allocate the town's current CPA funds — the $607,921 available for open space preservation, the $328,419 available for the preservation of historic buildings, landscapes and resources, the $359, 164 available for the creation and support of community housing and the additional $2.3 million in discretionary money that could be used to create recreational opportunities. All these funds, Kozloski noted, are independent of the town's annual budget.
"This is for the benefit of the people of Agawam," he said of the money and the projects it could potentially fund.
Marilyn Curry, a member of the Historical Association, said she felt the public is generally unaware of what types of projects — such as Phase One of the popular School Street Park, preservation of the 1850 Thomas Smith House and construction of playscapes at two parks and one school — are funded using CPA money.
"Maybe it's important to see what we would not have [without CPA funds], what we would not be able to afford without taxes," Curry said.
She added that getting this information out was especially important given that there was another application due to come before the City Council to place a vote to repeal the 1 percent property tax surtax that funds the town's CPA accounts on the November ballot.
Kozloski said the easiest way for taxpayers to figure out what CPA funding costs them annually for all this benefit is to "dig out your tax bill." On an average home in Agawam, which has an estimated tax bill of $2,824, the annual cost to fund CPA projects is $28.24 or $7 per quarter.
Currently, Kozloski said $61,750 in CPA money is being used to pay for design services to draft stabilization plans for the historic School Street Barn, and $125,000 for revisions to the plans for Phase Two of School Street Park in anticipation of the town reapplying for a Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities (PARC) grant from the state's Department of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA).
Other uses for CPA funds suggested by meeting attendees included creating a permanent archive for the town's historic records, replacement of the cinder running track at Agawam High School, assistance to the proposed Soldier On affordable housing project at the site of the former police academy and recreational development at the Tuckahoe Farm property.
CPC member Corrine Wingard explained that, under current state statues, CPA money could not be used to repair an existing recreational site such as the high school track, only to create a new facility. However, she said if a bill broadening the definition of CPA spending passes the state legislature this year, then CPA money could possibly be used to renovate the school's track.
Kozloski said residents with projects seeking CPA funding could check eligibility rulings, and download applications, at the commission's website, www.agawamcpa.com. The information is also available in the town's Planning Department in Town Hall and from any CPC member, he added.
