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Community Preservation Committee 2009 Fall Meeting Schedule (As of October 1, 2009) |
Date |
Time |
Location |
Wednesday, October 14 |
7:30 A.M. |
1st Floor Conference Room, 141 Keyes Road
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Thursday, October 22 |
7:30 P.M.
|
1st Floor Conference Room, 141 Keyes Road
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Saturday, October 24 |
7:45 A.M. to 12:30 P.M. |
Site Visits starting at 141 Keyes Road
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Wednesday, October 28
|
8:00 A.M. |
1st Floor Conference Room, 141 Keyes Road
|
Tuesday, November 3
|
7:30 P.M. |
2nd Floor Conference Room, 141 Keyes Road |
Monday, November 16 Public Hearing
|
7:30 P.M.
|
Alcott School Auditorium 93 Laurel Street |
Wednesday, December 2 |
8:00 A.M. |
1st Floor Conference Room, 141 Keyes Road
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Wednesday, December 9 |
7:30 P.M. |
2nd Floor Conference Room, 141 Keyes Road
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New Applications for Community Preservation Act Funding
(posted October 5, 2009)
Concord’s Community Preservation Committee (CPC) is pleased to announce that 12 applications have been received for possible consideration by the 2010 Annual Town Meeting. These projects address historic preservation, open space, community housing, and recreation priorities and total $2,489,975 in requested funds.
This year’s projects include the following:
- Fowler Library Renovations - Concord Free Public Library
- John Ball House Interpretation - Concord Art Association
- Peter Bulkeley Terrace Redevelopment - Concord Housing Authority
- White Pond Management Plan - Town of Concord
- Mill Brook Footbridge - Town of Concord
- Concord School of Philosophy Restoration and Accessibility Retrofit - Louisa May Alcott Memorial Association
- Caesar Robbins - Peter Hutchinson House/Concord Civil Liberties Museum - Drinking Gourd Project
- Lalli Woods Affordable Housing Development - Concord Housing Development Corporation
- Warner’s Pond Watershed Management Plan - Town of Concord
- Emerson Theater Floor and Seating Renovations - Emerson Umbrella
- Scout House Building Rehabilitation - Concord Scout House, Inc.
- Open Space Reserve Fund - Town of Concord
Over the next two months, the CPC will review each of the proposed applications to determine which projects the CPC will recommend for consideration at the 2010 Annual Town Meeting. This process will include a public hearing scheduled for Monday, November 16 at 7:30pm in the Alcott School Auditorium, 93 Laurel Street which will provide an excellent opportunity for the public to learn about the proposed projects and how they may address community housing, historic preservation, open space and recreation priorities in Concord. Public feedback on these applications is strongly encouraged.
Concord is anticipated to have $1.046 million dollars in Community Preservation Act Funds available for appropriation by the 2010 Annual Town Meeting.
The Community Preservation Act in Concord
What is the Community Preservation Act? Established in 2000 under M.G.L. c. 44B, the Community Preservation Act (CPA) allows Massachusetts cities and towns to raise monies through a surcharge of up to 3% of the tax levy on real property. These funds can be used to acquire, create and preserve open space; acquire and preserve historic resources; create, preserve and support community housing; and acquire and preserve land for recreational use. A minimum of 10% of the revenues must be appropriated or reserved each year for each of the three interests of open space, community housing and historic preservation. The Act also provides a significant State matching fund which in past years has made more than $30 million available annually. In addition to Concord, 140 cities and towns across the state have adopted the
CPA to date.
How is the CPA used in Concord? At the 2004 Annual Town Meeting and subsequently at the polls, Concord residents voted to adopt the CPA with a 1.5% surcharge on all real estate property tax bills. There are two exemptions, however, to this surcharge:
- The first $100,000 of taxable value of residential real property
- Residential property owned and occupied by any person who qualifies for moderate- or low-income housing (earning less than 80% of Area Median Income), or low or moderate-income senior housing (earning less than 100% of Area Median Income and are 60 years of age or older).
The CPA mandates that each fiscal year Concord must spend, or set aside for later spending, at least 10% of the annual revenues in the Town of Concord Community Preservation Fund for each of the three CPA interests: community housing, historic resources, and open space. Beyond these required allocations, Concord Town Meeting decides, based on the CPC’s recommendations, how much of the remaining 70% of the funds should be spent on the three purposes identified above or for recreation. The spending mix for the remaining 70% of the Fund can be modified each year, and any monies not appropriated remain in the Fund for future distribution.
Where do the CPA funds come from? The funds available for spending each fiscal year are a combination of three sources:
- Projected Fund Revenues for the Upcoming Fiscal Year – Projected fund revenues are made up of the funds collected from the 1.5% surcharge on all real estate property tax bills and the State matching funds collected from existing surcharges on all real estate transactions at the Registry of Deeds and Land Court. These funds are termed as “projected” because the final numbers are not available until October of each year.
In 2009, Concord received a 67.62% match from these State funds, marking the first year since Concord passed the CPA that it has not received a 100% match. To date, these State funds have added $2,613,044 to the Town’s CPA fund since its inception.
- Undesignated Fund Balance – These are funds which were collected in previous years but never allocated. Where did this money come from? Usually an undesignated fund balance represents either unanticipated additional interest received on CPA fund accounts or the receipt of more State matching funds or surcharge tax revenues than were originally anticipated.
- Reserve Funds - These are funds which were approved at previous Town Meetings to be set aside for future projects in Community Housing, Historic Preservation and/or Open Space. At present, there is $147,559.04 in the Open Space Reserve Fund.
What does the surcharge really mean to Concord taxpayers?
The Assessor’s Department has calculated that in FY09, the median home in Concord had an assessed value of $707,100. After subtracting the CPA exemption for the first $100,000 of the taxable value of a residential property, and multiplying this number by the FY09 tax rate of $11.90 per $1000 of value, the median tax amount is $7,224.49. The 1.5% surcharge, then, for the median homeowner in Concord is $108.37.
Concord’s Community Preservation Committee
Following Concord's 2004 adoption of the Community Preservation Act, the Board of Selectmen established the Community Preservation Committee (CPC). As specified in the enabling legislation, the Committee is charged with the task of "studying the needs, possibilities, and resources of the town regarding community preservation." The areas of study are open space, community housing, historic preservation and recreation. The Committee is required to consult with town boards and commissions to ascertain the needs of the community and hold at least one public informational meeting per year. Finally, the Committee is to solicit applications for CPA projects and after review present funding recommendations to the citizens at Concord's Town Meeting.
The first task of the Committee was to write a Plan, which was completed in 2005 and has been reviewed and updated each subsequent summer. It includes the following sections:1) The CPA in Concord; 2) How CPA Funds can be Used; 3) Needs Assessments for Community Housing, Historic Preservation, Open Space, and Recreation; 4) General Selection Criteria; 5) Application Process; 6) Guidelines for Submission; 7) Application Requirements; 8) Application; 9) Funding Process and ten Appendices. The 2010 Community Preservation Plan is available on this webpage, at the Town libraries, and in the Planning Department at 141 Keyes Road.
In writing the Plan, the Committee received input from the Town's boards, commissions and officials. They also utilized the most recent Comprehensive Long Range Plan, the Open Space and Recreation Plan and the Playground Study. The Committee continues to update the Plan each year to meet the changing needs of the community.
(Updated August 31, 2009)
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