The Community Preservation Committee questioned this year's four applicants for more information ahead of its next meeting on Jan. 20.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Community Preservation Commission on Tuesday evening heard from four applicants seeking a combined total of about $64,000 in Community Preservation Act funds.

 

The town's Conservation Commission, the Williamstown Historical Museum, the Trustees of Reservations and Sand Springs Pool each are seeking between $10,000 and $27,000 to pay for projects that the applicants argue fall under the provisions of the act.

 

The committee did not deliberate about the merits of any of the proposals on Tuesday night. Instead, it asked each applicant questions that the applicants will answer at the committee's Jan. 20 meeting.

 

Most of the applications appeared to garner support from the committee members, although there were a few substantive issues for each of the applicants.

 

The applicant with the most "homework" between now and Jan. 20 is the Conservation Commission, which is seeking $10,000 to rebuild hiking trail bridges on town-owned land under the commission's control.

 

Commissioner Richard Schlesinger made the commission's case before the preservation committee, which also happens to be chaired by the Conservation Commission's chairman, Philip McKnight.

 

Schlesinger said the commission's request is a natural complement to the CPA funds awarded to it by town meeting in 2013 to help rehabilitate the bath house at Margaret Lindley Park.

 

"Originally, conservation commissions were formed to focus on development and promotion of natural resources," Schlesinger told the CPC, explaining that the commission's role enforcing the commonwealth's natural resources legislation was added to its duties.

 

"We're trying to get back to our roots and focus on things that have to do with natural resources. In the last three or four years, we've lost three bridges that used to be used. … We're hoping to start rebuilding some of those so the trails can be used. Probably the best way to promote natural resources is for people to get out and enjoy them."

 

Several members of the CPC — while not questioning the intent —questioned the specificity of the application.

 

"The number of bridges is in question," committee member Chris Winters said. "If you can build two, you can build two, and if you can build four, you can build four."

 

"We're trying to be flexible," Schlesinger said.

 

McKnight and Schlesinger said the uncertainty stems from two facts. The Conservation Commission does not know whether it will receive additional financial support from the Rotary Club, and it is uncertain about the material to be used in the bridges — more durable but costly fiberglass or less expensive wood.

 

"So at the end of the day, how does the CPC know if it got what it funded?" asked Town Manager Peter Fohlin, who serves on the CPC. "If the application said, 'We want to build this bridge for $17,500, and if we don't raise the additional funds, we won't build anything and the CPC gets the money back' … that's what other organizations not part of town government do.

 

"What I'm hearing is, ‘We like to build this bridge, and if we get $10,000 and don't get money from someone else, we'll build something else.' … That's not the standard we've held other organizations to when we fund projects.

 

"We always know what's being promised to be delivered. We're not getting that in this application."

 

The CPC asked the Conservation Commission to do a major revision on its application in time for the Jan. 20 meeting, when the request will be considered again.

 

The Community Preservation Act, which the town adopted in 2002, allows towns to assess a property tax surcharge specifically to fund projects related to community housing (senior and affordable), historic preservation, open space and recreation. In Williamstown, the CPA levy is set at 2 percent, with an exemption for the first $100,000 of assessed value.

 

Each winter, the committee vets applications for CPA funds and makes recommendation to May's annual town meeting, at which voters decide whether the money will be allocated.

 

The Trustees of Reservations is looking for $15,400 in CPA funds to restore original furniture and woodwork in the Bloedel family home that the Trustees acquired along with Field Farm in 1985.

 

Trustees curator Mark Wilson told the committee that first floor of the property's main house, which is used as an inn, is open to the public free of charge May through October.

 

"There is some wear and tear on the furnishings," Mark Wilson told the CPC. "Although it is not used actively, there is still some damage, and we want to mitigate that before further damage takes place."

 

Wilson said the Trustees have brought in two consultants to assess the historic significance of the items they want to restore. The CPC told him that in order for the application to be considered, the committee needs to see certification from the town's Historical Commission.

 

Wilson said he had been in touch with the chairman of the Historical Commission about the request and would ask for a commission meeting between now and the Jan. 20 meeting of the CPC.

 

The largest application before the CPC also elicited some substantive questions from the committee.

 

The Sand Springs Recreational Center is asking for $27,207.04 toward a $30,230.04 project to heat the pool at the historic site and install a lift to provide access to the pool for people with disabilities.

 

The president of the non-profit SSRC told the committee that the spring-fed pool's water temperature is in the low 70s for much of the season.

 

"It will warm up the middle of August, but in the mornings, when our [swim] lessons take place, it is cool," Janette Kessler Dudley said. "That is not in compliance with American Red Cross guidelines, which are between 84 and 89.6 degrees.

 

"We have noticed our very young swimmers or swimmers over 65 find the temperature uncomfortable, particularly for swim lessons."

 

Resident and SSRC Board member Stephen Narey told the committee that his son, who has a disability, finds the pool uncomfortable and that the cool temperature is a particular issue for anyone with a heart condition.

 

To remedy the situation, the SSRC proposes to add a heating unit and a removable solar cover that can be used at night to help retain heat.

 

Kessler emphasized that the non-profit privately raised $650,000 to acquire and renovate the pool so it would be available for residents of all ages and abilities.

 

Clockwise from top left, Conservation Commissioner Richard, Sarah Currie of the Williamstown Historical Museum, Mark Wilson of the Trustees of Reservations and Janette Kessler Dudley of the Sand Springs Recreational Center.

"One of our goals is to teach everyone in the community — young or old — how to swim," she said.

 

A couple of CPC members asked for more information to be provided at the Jan. 20 meeting.

 

Michael Sussman asked Kessler to share data on the number of individuals who have participated in Sand Spring's reduced fee scholarship program. Jeffrey Thomas asked to see information about how the non-profit will be able to pay to operate a heating system if and when it is installed.

 

"I know many people who installed heaters and stopped using them because of the cost," Thomas said. "I'd like to see information on the cost of operating such a heater and whether you have the resources to do so. … It's just part of our due diligence."

 

The Williamstown Historical Museum is asking the town for $11,219.40 to preserve, exhibit and create a facsimile edition of the town's 1753 "Proprietors' Meetings Book," the town's founding document that one local historian described as a "humble Magna Carta."

 

Museum Director Sarah Currie told the CPC that the original book will reside at Town Hall in the custody of the town clerk, while the museum will display a facsimile and hopes to make a digital copy available through the museum's and town's websites.

 

The committee asked Currie to return on Jan. 20 with information about attendance at the museum, located in David and Joyce Milne Public Library on Main Street, and before and after photographs of items conserved with CPA funds allotted at the May 2014 annual town meeting.