CPA board recommends $380k in new projects

By Nicholas Calvino, For Abington News

The Community Preservation Committee is recommending $380,000 in new projects next year for Abington.

Town Meeting must approve the spending when it meets April 3.

Island Grove is one particular focus this year. The committee has endorsed spending $70,000 to design repairs to the Island Grove Bridge and $50,000 to repair the park’s wooden pavilion.

A study found that while the century-old bridge’s supports are in good shape, the pedestrian deck and iron railing are in dire need of repair. 

“It’s important to fix these parts of the bridge because if someone falls, they could sue the [town] of Abington,” said Committee Chairwoman Amanda Zompetti.

The pavilion has been closed off for nearly two years due to safety concerns. 

While Island Grove Park is on the National Register of Historic Places, it’s not clear whether the bridge and pavilion are considered historic structures, Zompetti said. 

“We need to make sure we don’t change anything we don’t need to because it’s a historic landmark. It would be like getting rid of the lead windows in your house in Boston, you can’t change that because it’s historic,” said Zompetti.

Click here to see a map of previously approved CPA projects in Abington

SOURCE: Abington Community Preservation Committee

Another $9,620 would be spent placing interpretive signs around the historic park, and $20,000 would be allocated to the Historical Committee to conduct an historical property inventory around town. 

The Committee is also recommending $38,500 to pay for an updated Open Space/Recreation Master Plan. The last one was completed in 2014.   

Also, $25,000 would be spent on initial designs for a walking path connecting the Town Library/Town Hall complex to Broadmeadow Lane. Town officials said the path would make it easier for students on the west side of town to walk to the Middle/High School, as well as create another link in a town-wide corridor connecting the Hanover Rail Trail with Ames Nowell State Park. Another $23,500 would pay for new fence posts at Griffin’s Dairy Park. 

The committee also endorsed placing $100,000 in the town’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, and spending $20,000 to create a project action plan for the trust fund committee.   

The Community Preservation Act is funded through a 1.5% surtax on property tax bills. It can only be spent on projects related to historical preservation, open space and recreation, and affordable housing. The state provides some matching funds. 

Abington will collect an estimated $464,207 in CPA funds in FY24, plus an expected $93,000 in state matching funds. 

If all projects are approved, there will still be an estimated $605,980 in the CPA’s reserve fund that can be used for future projects.

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