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Article 3 - Hear Reports Appointed at Prior Town Meetings - 2021 CCPC Annual Report_FINAL.pdf pdf file
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Report of the COMMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMITTEE Shaun Chu, Co-Chair 801 Washington St. John McSweeney, Co-Chair Canton, MA 02021 Stacey Gorman, Treasurer Telephone 339-502-5729 George Comeau, Clerk ccpc@town.canton.ma.us Lisa Lopez, Board of Selectmen Melissa Mayer, Conservation Commission David McCarthy, Planning Board Kendall O’Halloran, School Committee John Leonetti, Citizen-at-Large CPA IN CANTON The Canton Community Preservation Committee (CCPC) is the town board that implements the Community Preservation Act (CPA) which was adopted by Canton voters in 2012. Through the CPA, state and local funds are collected to fund open space, affordable housing, historic preservation, and recreation projects. Local funds are raised through a 1% surcharge on all real estate property tax bills with three exemptions: (1) residential property owned and occupied by any person who qualifies for low-income housing, or low- or moderate-income senior housing; (2) the first $100,000 of taxable value of all residential real property; and (3) the first $100,000 of taxable value of all commercial and industrial property. FUNCTION & COMPOSITION The CCPC administers the community preservation fund, writes and adopts a Community Preservation Plan based on community input, receives proposals from the community for expenditures from the fund, recommends projects to Town Meeting to be considered for funding, and monitors the progress of approved projects. The Committee is comprised of nine volunteer members: one citizen-at-large and one member each from the Conservation Commission, Historical Commission, Housing Authority, Planning Board, Playground & Recreation Commission, Select Board, Capital Planning Committee, and School Committee. Given this composition, the CCPC typically experiences turnover in one or more of the seats in any given year. Midway through the calendar year, and prior to the start of the FY 2023 CPA grant application season, two members of the CCPC relinquished their seats on the CCPC. Josh Cohen represented the Conservation Commission on the Committee since 2017 and Kristin Mirliani served one year on behalf of the School Committee. Their seats were filled by Melissa Mayer (Conservation) and Kendall O’Halloran (School Committtee). The CCPC extends its appreciation to Josh and Kristin for their service to the Town and their commitment to community preservation, and looks forward to working with the newly-appointed Committee members. 2021 ACTIVITY & APPROVED PROJECTS The CCPC typically meets on the first Monday of each month; however, additional meetings are often required in December and January of each year when the Committee is reviewing CPA applications. A total of eleven public meetings were held by the Committee during 2021. In response to the pandemic, the CCPC did not host a stand-alone meeting to introduce the projects being recommended for funding, but rather participated in the virtual Town Meeting information session hosted by the Finance Committee. In May of 2021, the CCPC presented its funding recommendations for Fiscal Year 2022 to Annual Town Meeting. The Committee recommended a total of nine projects across all three funding categories. CPA-funding recommendations for FY22 totaled $863,828. The CCPC is pleased to report that all nine projects recommended for funding were approved by the Town Meeting Body at the recommended funding levels. A table summarizing the projects funded in 2021 follows. Additional information about each of the projects mentioned below can be found on the CCPC website: https://www.town.canton.ma.us/414/Community-Preservation-Committee- Website.
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Community Housing Projects
Project Description CPA Funding
Hagan Court Emergency Staircase Replacement $100,000
• Preserve affordable units at the Hagan Court Housing Complex by replacing the exterior
emergency egress staircases.
Transfer to Municipal Affordable Housing Trust $50,000
• Fund transfer designated for purposes of hiring a Housing Specialist to assist the newly-
formed Housing Trust in updating the Town’s Housing Action Plan.
Historic Resources Projects
Project Description CPA Funding
Memorial Hall Restoration – Design Funds $283,506
• Partial funding of the $2.5 million effort to restore the exterior of the Historic Town Hall
building. CPA funds will be expended on the architectural design of the project.
1829 Hunneman Hand Tub Restoration $46,000
• Restore and preserve the nearly 200-year-old firefighting apparatus which will be on long-
term loan to the Town for display at the Paul Revere Heritage Site.
Hooper Bell Restoration Study $5,000
• Develop a plan to preserve and restore the Hooper Bell in a manner that will allow for its
meaningful incorporation at the Paul Revere Heritage Site.
Open Space/Recreation Projects
Project Description CPA Funding
Luce School Playground $270,322
• Replace the large upper playground at Luce Elementary School. Project features multiple
improvements for accessibility including poured-in-place surfacing.
Warner Trail Design Study $50,000
• Develop design scenarios (with associated permitting needs and construction costs) for the
re-establishment of the Canton portion of the historic Warner Trail.
Gibson Field Restoration $34,000
• Capital improvements to address safety issues at the High School baseball field including
laser-grading of infield, rebuilding pitcher’s mound and re-centering base paths
Transfer to Conservation Fund $25,000
• Fund transfer intended to augment the Land Conservation Fund for future purchases of
real property interests in parcels with high conservation value.
In the Fall of 2021, the CCPC received thirteen CPA pre-applications. Following an initial review of eligibility under the
CPA statute, twelve full applications requesting just under $2,000,000 in CPA funding were received. The CCPC held
three public meetings to entertain presentations from project proponents and to consider which projects to recommend to
Annual Town Meeting in 2022. Final decisions as to FY 23 recommendations are generally reported in January and voted
at ATM in May.
FINANCIALS
Total CPA revenues in fiscal year 2021 were $882,399. This includes surcharge revenue of $684,473 and the State Match
of $181,402. The State match increased for the fourth straight year, and a record distribution of $268,677 was received inSource page 3
November of 2021 (for FY 22). This record match was made possible by the permanent increase to the revenue source
for the State CPA Trust Fund.
Unlike other Town departments, unexpended funds in a community preservation account roll over from year to year and
unappropriated funds continue to accumulate in the various CPA accounts. The following chart captures the Fund’s actual
revenue streams through the end of fiscal year 2021 (which closed at the end of June 2021). Additional financial
information reflective of the overall status of CPA accounts can be found on the Community Preservation Committee
website.
CPA Revenue by Fiscal Year
Fiscal Year Surcharge Revenue State CPA Other Revenue TOTAL REVENUE
Distribution
FY2014 $480,993.57 $0.00 $877.59 $481,871.16
FY2015 $491,959.51 $153,822.00 $5,812.76 $651,594.27
FY2016 $520,788.81 $145,336.00 $7,341.15 $673,465.96
FY2017 $545,946.62 $108,001.00 $11,689.00 $665,636.62
FY2018 $581,951.58 $94,671.00 $25,996.39 $702,618.97
FY2019 $613,699.65 $110,487.00 $32,523.76 $756,710.41
FY2020 $619,735.77 $147,419.00 $30,548.53 $797,703.30
FY2021 $684,473.45 $181,402.00 $16,524.16 $882,399.61
TOTALS $4,539,548.96 $941,138.00 $131,313.34 $5,612,000.30
Based on the revenue data above, and following discussions with the Town’s financial professionals, the Committee used
an estimated revenue figure of $725,000 for FY 22. With input from the Finance and Accounting Departments the CCPC
will review projected revenues in advance of making their FY 23 project recommendations.
The Committee wishes to thank past and current project sponsors, Canton citizens, Town officials, the law firm of Brooks
& DeRensis, the Massachusetts Community Preservation Coalition and each of its Committee members for their
continued dedication to CPA.
Respectfully submitted,
Shaun Chu John McSweeney
Co-Chair Co-Chair