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Committees: Community Preservation Committee

Community Preservation Committee Questionnaire

Please take a few minutes to complete the questionnaire regarding Hingham´s open space, affordable housing, historic places, .....and it´s future. Click here for the questionnaire, fill in the form boxes, print out the form, and mail your completed questionnaire to the Community Preservation Committee, c/o the Town Clerk, 210 Central Street, Hingham, MA 02043.

Community Preservation Funding Application - Due by October 15, 2010

Community Preservation Committee´s 2009-2010 Application for Funding of projects related to the Community Preservation Act. This application is available to all residents seeking to have proposals funded by the Community Preservation Committee.

2009 Annual Report

Nine members comprise the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) – one each appointed by and from the Conservation Commission, the Planning Board, the Historical Commission, the Housing Authority and the Board of Selectmen, and four citizens at large, two appointed by the Board of Selectmen and two by the Moderator. The Committee reviews applications submitted by Town bodies and citizens at large for funding projects involving preservation of historic resources, creation of low and moderate income housing, acquisition of open space, and recreation. The CPC makes recommendations to Town Meeting regarding the use of the Town’s Community Preservation Fund for those purposes. That fund is composed of a 1.5% surtax on Town real estate taxes effective beginning July 1, 2001, state matching grants payable each October 15th based on the surtax revenues for the fiscal year ending the prior June 30th, and interest on the accumulated funds. The total amount that will have been collected by the Fund through June 30, 2010 is approximately $8,588,000 including a total of $3,382,000 in state matching funds. The Community Preservation Act requires that at least 10% of each year’s Community Preservation revenues be spent or set aside for each of the three Community Preservation categories, i.e., Historic Preservation, Community Housing, and Open Space/Recreation. The remaining 70% is available for spending on any one or more of the categories as the Committee and Town Meeting see fit.

The Committee recommended two historic preservation projects to 2009 Town Meeting (1): architectural and structural analyses and condition reports on Old Derby Academy and the Old Ordinary ($60,000); and (2) a block grant of $62,500 to be placed in the Historical Commission’s Preservation Projects Fund to support various preservation and restoration endeavors. Two additional projects in the open space and recreation category were recommended for Town Meeting approval: (1) the sum of $100,000 to be transferred to the Town of Hingham Conservation Fund, to be spent on Conservation Commission established priorities consistent with the Community Preservation Act; and (2) $700,000 for the acquisition of 4.1 acres of the Cushing property located at 210 East Street. The property owner donated to the Town an additional 5 acres of nearby woodlands. The CPC did not recommend any projects in the Community Housing category for this year’s funding cycle.

As of the writing of this report, the Community Preservation Committee is proposing seven projects for approval at 2010 Town Meeting. To address those recommended appropriations, at the end of FY 2010 Hingham’s Community Preservation Fund will have approximately $1,266,500 available including a Community Housing Reserve Balance of $92,600 carried over from FY10, and a projected amount of $214,000 to be added in October 2010 when the state match is delivered.

The Committee wishes to thank Eugene Babin for serving as the Conservation Commission appointee for the past year. The Committee also wishes to convey thanks to Planning Board appointee Judy Sneath for her contributions to community preservation over the past several years.

Finally, the Committee welcomes new Conservation Commission appointee Dan Coughlin, and Planning Board appointee Gary Tondorf-Dick.