Community Preservation Act awaits voters in Worcester, Boylston and Westborough

WORCESTER — Since Southborough voters approved adopting the Community Preservation Act in 2003, the town has been able to preserve 18th-century documents, preserve recreational spaces and restore the Flagg School — home of the Southborough Historical Society.

The same act will appear on ballots Nov. 8 in Worcester, Boylston and Westborough, giving residents the choice on whether to pay a Community Preservation Act surcharge to help fund historic preservation projects, open space acquisition and park improvements, and community housing.

If adopted, the act would enable towns to adopt a 1% to 3% tax surcharge on residential and commercial property owners to help establish and maintain a Community Preservation Trust Fund.

In Worcester, voters will decide on whether to adopt a 1.5% surcharge on their annual assessed property tax beginning in July 2023. The money collected would be matched by the state.

The first $100,000 of residential and commercial-industrial property value will be exempt from the surcharge. Additionally, exemptions from the surcharge will be given to low-income families and low- to moderate-income senior citizens who own homes.

The act is not new, having been adopted in 189 communities — or 54% — of cities and towns in Massachusetts since being signed into law in 2000 by former Gov. Paul Cellucci and Lt. Gov. Jane Swift.

Sturbridge among first to adopt act

This includes some Central Massachusetts towns, such as Sturbridge, who were among the first to adopt the act shortly after it was signed into law.

One of the first approved projects in Sturbridge, according to the Community Preservation Act website, was preserving the Old Burial Ground and North Cemetery — which has continued to receive funds dedicated to its preservation since.

The town was able to digitize historic documents, including the first town records on CDs for classrooms, purchase two playgrounds for recreational space and renovate and restore basketball and tennis courts at Cedar Lake.

In Grafton, funds were approved to build outdoor bathrooms for public use including a septic system at Grafton Lions Club Dauphinais Park. Construction began in May and voters approved additional funds Monday to be used to complete construction.

The other Central Massachusetts towns that have adopted the Community Preservation Act include:

• Berlin

• Hopedale

• Hubbardston

• Mendon

• Northbridge

• Northborough

• Phillipston

• Royalston

• Southborough

• Templeton

• Upton

• West Boylston

Some towns in Central Massachusetts adopted the act more recently, such as Shrewsbury in 2020, which is currently in its beginning stages of the act.

After voting to adopt it, the Shrewsbury Select Board created a nine-member Preservation Committee, that spent the last year creating a community preservation priority plan, said Kristen D. Las, assistant town manager.

While the town has begun assessing the tax surcharge and establishing its fund, none of the funds have been appropriated towards any projects. Instead, the town has begun its process for determining which projects would be eligible for preservation funding, she said.

“Anyone who wanted to potentially use Community Preservation dollars had to submit an eligibility request to the committee,” Las said. “They reviewed those requests at their September and October meeting to determine, ‘Do these projects meet the criteria of being funded by the Committee Preservation Funding?’“

She said the committee made their final determinations at their October meeting. Those deemed eligible will have to submit project applications in November and make presentations before the committee in December.

The committee will then vote in February on which projects they recommend to include on the town meeting warrant for May.

“It’s really quite a swath … we've received applications from community members who wish to enhance parks in the area and are looking to reconstruct playgrounds,” Las said. “We have received applications from Shrewsbury Electric and Cable Operations to enhance the electric system at one of our publicly owned buildings.”

After residents vote at the May meeting on each of the projects, funds will be released in July 2023, she said.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Community Preservation Act awaits Worcester, Boylston Westborough vote