CCPC welcomes new administrator, reaffirms pause
By GuestSubmitted by the Community Preservation Committee
The Canton Community Preservation Committee (CCPC) is pleased to announce the hiring of Allison Neff as its newest CPA administrator. Neff will replace longtime administrator Kristen Phelps, who was instrumental in helping to build Canton’s very CPA successful program.
Adopted by the town in 2012, the Community Preservation Act has funded millions of dollars in local projects that support historic preservation, open space and recreation, and community housing.
Over the last 10 years, the nine-member CCPC has spent hundreds of hours soliciting, reviewing and managing grant applications for CPA-eligible projects, all in pursuit of projects that will preserve and enhance Canton’s sense of community and quality of life. The ultimate decision maker on whether to approve CPA funding for a particular project remains with the voters at annual town meeting. Committee co-chairs Shaun Chu and John McSweeney said it is thanks to these voters that playgrounds, tennis and basketball courts, ball fields, historic structures and artifacts, the Paul Revere Heritage Site and most recently, the Earl Newhouse Waterfront on Reservoir Pond, have been enhanced, restored or replaced with critical CPA funding.
One key role of the CCPC is to determine the community’s specific needs and priorities for CPA-eligible funding, and to solicit project applications aligned with those priorities. To that end, the committee engaged a consultant to help manage the most comprehensive community engagement process undertaken in the past 10 years, including interviews, focus groups, in-person and virtual “town hall” meetings, and a detailed survey completed by over 1,000 respondents.
Given the COVID-related delays in some previously approved CPA projects and the seven-month absence of a CPA administrator, and in accordance with guidance from the statewide CPA Coalition, the state Department of Revenue, which enforces the CPA statute, and Canton’s town counsel, the committee has decided to take a pause on recommending new CPA project funding. Instead, CCPC members and their new administrator will focus on completing the analysis of all the community engagement data, finalizing its Community Preservation Plan and distributing it to the public as guidance for future project applications. The committee looks forward to receiving grant applications for new projects by October 2023 at the latest.
For questions and information about Canton’s CPA program, contact Allison Neff at cpcc@town.canton.ma.us. Or visit town.canton.ma.us/cpcc.
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=93196
Posted by Guest
on Oct 14 2022. Filed under News, Town Government.
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