Thanks to an increase in the Community Preservation Act surcharge on property taxes and a change in accounting protocol, the Community Preservation Committee has over $1.7 million in its coffers to spend for fiscal 2026. It is recommending using all but $175,000 to pay for projects that include a down payment on renovating McCurdy Track and a hefty contribution to the Conservation Commission to build its reserves to preserve open space.
In 2001, Harvard adopted the state’s Community Preservation Act, which allowed the town to collect a 1.1% surcharge on local property taxes. At least 30% of the money received from the surcharge each year must be spent or set aside for the following three purposes (10% for each): open space and recreation, historic resources, and community housing. The remaining 70% may be spent in any proportion among those three categories or saved for future expenditure.
In 2023, the town voted to increase the surcharge to the maximum allowed by the state, 3%. The increased surcharge was not collected until fiscal 2024, making this the first year the extra funds are available. The increase in surcharge also brings in more money from the state, which matches each town’s CPA funds based on how much revenue Massachusetts makes from the Registry of Deeds. The town collected over $700,000 in fiscal 2025, and the state match was just over $200,000, or about 29%. In fiscal 2023, when the surcharge was still 1.1%, the town collected only about $250,000.
In addition to the surcharge increase, the committee’s budget was historically calculated in the spring, using money collected during the previous fiscal year. In the spring of 2024, for instance, the CPC budget for fiscal 2025 was based on the money collected in fiscal 2023. Last winter, Finance Director Jared Mullane asked the committee to use the current fiscal year to determine its budget, and the CPC agreed. As a result, the budget for fiscal 2026 includes money collected in both fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2025, along with the state matching funds for both years.
Open space and recreation
This year’s largest requests came from the Park and Recreation Commission. It asked for over $2.4 million to renovate the McCurdy Track and another $1.7 million to renovate and expand the field house at the track. In addition, it asked for money to purchase a 6-acre parcel near Harvard Park that is suitable for a new multipurpose athletic field.
The CPC and the Capital Planning and Investment Committee discussed how to divvy up funding the three requests and settled on CPC shouldering the track renovation and CPIC paying for the land acquisition. Park and Rec withdrew the field house renovation request as it is investigating ways to reduce the cost, such as assistance from students at Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical school.
CPC recommends spending $600,000 of its fiscal 2026 funds for a down payment to reconstruct the track and paying for the remainder with a bond on which it will make annual payments, similar to the annual Town Hall renovation payment it is currently making.
In addition, CPC recommended giving $500,000 to the Conservation Commission to replenish the fund it uses to protect open space in Harvard. According to its application, the commission expects at least seven large parcels of open space, rated as either high or medium priority for protection, to come on the market in the next several years with asking prices around $1 million each.
Historic Resources
Four requests in the historic resources category were recommended. The Cemetery Commission wants funds to reproduce some missing and damaged metal grave markers, as well as some badly damaged marble stone markers in the Shaker Cemetery. The town’s facilities manager asked for money to repair, refurbish, or replace the outdated and inefficient windows in the town’s old library on Fairbank Street, currently leased to Fivesparks. Finally, the Historical Commission asked for a small amount of money to purchase historical plaques for Town Hall, the old library, the library, and Hildreth House. The 9-inch by 12-inch plaques would be affixed to the front of each building. The fourth request was for the amount that the CPC contributes annually toward the Town Hall renovation debt.
An additional request by the Congregational Church for a $5,000 contribution toward the $30,000 needed to restore the wooden columns on the church’s outdoor porch was withdrawn. CPC Chair Stu Sklar told the Press the church was recently able to negotiate a good price to have the columns restored, and it chose to move ahead with the project using funds it had collected from private donors.
Community housing
The Community Preservation Committee also recommended the Municipal Affordable Housing Trust’s request for its annual 10% share of CPC’s funding plus an additional $100,000. The trust is using its recently created Housing Production Plan to increase affordable housing in town, and that plan includes identifying suitable parcels of land in town as well as increasing the trust’s financial resources so it can facilitate affordable housing development.
The town will vote on CPC’s recommendations at Annual Town Meeting on May 3.
