Newhouse Waterfront, Tilden headline CPA projects
By Jay Turner
A recent photo of the Tilden House courtesy of George T. Comeau
Funding for upgrades to the Earl Newhouse Waterfront at Reservoir Pond as well as phase two of the David & Abigail Tilden House restoration are among the headliners in the latest round of Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding for fiscal year 2021.
Meeting on January 13 at Town Hall to finalize their recommendations, the town’s nine-member Community Preservation Committee (CCPC) voted to spend nearly $936,000 for six public projects. Applicants included the Canton DPW, Canton Housing Authority, Parks & Recreation, School Department, Conservation and Planning departments, and Canton Historical Society.
The CPA, now in its seventh year in Canton following a successful ballot initiative in 2012, is an optional state statute that enables participating communities to set aside funds for the preservation of open space, historical resources, community housing, and outdoor recreation. Funds are raised locally through a 1 percent surcharge on property tax bills and matched annually at a certain percentage through a statewide CPA trust.
While the CCPC is tasked with reviewing all project proposals and making spending recommendations, the final decision rests with the town meeting voters, who can opt to approve, reject, or reduce — but not increase — the suggested expenditures by a majority vote.
Previous CPA grants have been used to fund dozens of projects — everything from the renovation of the Canton High School tennis courts to the purchase of parkland at the Revere Heritage Site to the completion of needed maintenance work at the town’s public housing complexes.
The latest batch of projects includes the aforementioned Newhouse and Tilden improvements along with the construction of new tennis and pickleball courts at Pequitside, rehabilitation of the basketball courts at the Galvin Middle School, fire alarm upgrades at the Hemenway senior housing complex, and the proposed restoration and repointing of the exterior of Town Hall.
Five of the projects were recommended for full funding while the sixth — restoration of the Town Hall exterior — was revised as a smaller study grant totaling $15,000. The applicant for that project, the Facilities & Grounds Division of the DPW, had initially requested the full amount to complete the project ($1.184 million); however, the committee did not feel comfortable with that estimate and recommended that the town first study the issue by hiring the services of a “reputable historical restoration engineering consultant.”
The largest of the CCPC recommendations for FY21 is a $450,000 grant earmarked for the preservation of the Tilden House — or “Little Red House” — at Pequitside Farm. Built in the early 18th century, the Tilden is one of the few remaining First Period houses still standing in Norfolk County and is being preserved as a study house and program space for the Canton Historical Society. A team of architects, historians and preservation carpenters recently completed phase one of the project, which was funded in large part by a previous CPA grant (FY16) and focused on structural improvements, including removal of rotted wood and the installation of a new roof.
Phase two of the project will focus on the interior of the home and includes HVAC, electrical and plumbing work as well as installation of windows, flooring, and finishes. The second phase will also include measures to make the building ADA compliant …
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Posted by Jay Turner
on Jan 31 2020. Filed under News, Town Government.
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