Community Preservation funds have been allocated to five of the 11 projects that applied for funding in the coming fiscal year. Harvard’s Community Preservation Committee made the selections in late December; voters will have a chance to weigh in on their choices at April’s Annual Town Meeting.
The bulk of this year’s money—$300,000—will go to Town Hall renovation, as a down payment on the $1 million CPC voted to pay—and 2012 Town Meeting approved—towards the $3.7 million cost of renovating Town Hall. Community Preservation Committee Chairman Didi Chadran explained this week that the principal and interest on the $700,000 that remains will be a recurring expense likely to be spread out over 10 years to pay down as quickly as possible a 20-year, $700,000 municipal bond. This year the payment will be $85,000. The $300,000 allocation is a one-time outlay, Chadran said, which by lowering future payments will free up CPC money for other projects that were crowded out this year by the down payment on Town Hall debt.
Community Preservation funds are generated by local and state revenues, derived from a 1.1 percent surcharge on Harvard property taxes and from a statewide fee imposed on the recording of real estate titles. The local committee appropriates from the estimated annual revenues of the fund each fiscal year. This year, the grand total available to the committee is estimated at $463,000, including some carryover funds from previous years.By law, preservation funds can be spent on restoration projects involving historic assets—including historic town halls and municipal buildings—and on the preservation, acquisition, and creation of open space, recreation, and affordable housing. The table that accompanies this article shows how CPC will spend its available money in the coming year.
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