The Community Preservation Committee (CPC) seeks applications for potential projects to be funded by Watertown’s Community Preservations Act funds, and informational meetings have been scheduled for potential applicants.
The money raised from a 2 percent surcharge on Watertown property tax bills can be spent on projects in four areas: open space, outdoor recreation, community housing, and historical preservation. As of June, the CPA Fund had nearly $9 million.
The CPC takes applications and recommends which projects should receive funding, but it does not initiate, implement or manage projects. Community Preservation funds can be used for the following types of projects:
buy, create, preserve open space and rehabilitate and/or restore open space that is acquired or created using CPA funds;acquire, preserve, rehabilitate, or restore historic resources;acquire, create, preserve, and support community housing; andacquire, create, preserve, and rehabilitate and/or restore passive and active outdoor recreation facilities. Projects can be done on public or private property, said Watertown Community Preservation Coordinator Lanae Handy, but the applicants must have permission.
“If they are a local group interested in doing a project on town property they need to get the consent and support of the Town,” Handy said. “They can’t just apply for funds if they don’t have the approval of the Town.”
Similarly, applicants may have to get permits and approvals for other types of projects before getting funding.
Town Departments can also apply for projects using CPA funds, Handy said, but they cannot be projects that already have approved funding.
