SOMERSET — The Community Preservation Commission voted last week to recommend in favor of funding nine of the 12 projects that made proposals for the program this year.
The commission decided to recommend in favor of $100,000 for a renovation and restoration project on the Old Town Hall, $44,847.02 to put a new playground in Leahey Park, $41,149.71 for a new playground in the Roy and Alma Ashton Sports Complex, $34,910 for a dog park that would be built at Buffinton Park, $24,000 for roofing on dugouts at the South Field Complex, $17,485 for a new bandstand at Pierce Beach Park, $5,936 for sand at Pierce Beach, $3,500 for a shed for the Somerset Baseball League and $1,000 for a disc golf course at Buffinton Park.
In order for those projects to receive the money, town meeting voters in May will have to approve of the recommendations of the Community Preservation Commission.
The commission did not recommend in favor of three of the four projects that were seeking the most money. They included requests for $150,000 for lighting at the Ashton Sports Complex, $128,137 to replace the “Big Red Slide” at Pierce Beach Park and $75,156.01 to replace the South Field Complex playground.
The town’s Community Preservation Act funds, which are generated by a one percent surcharge on property taxes and matching funds from the state that in recent years have been in the range of one percent, can only be used for preservation of open space and historic properties, improvement of recreational facilities or community housing. The program had $290,325.40 available to spend this year.
Stephen Boland, the Playground and Recreation Commission representative to the Community Preservation Commission, said he would not vote for the funding for the Big Red Slide because it was based on the cost of a stainless steel slide. He said a fiberglass or plastic slide would cost one-fourth the amount of a stainless steel slide and would last 25 years. Robert Camara, another member of the Playground and Recreation Commission, said on top of that $30,000 cost for a fiberglass or plastic slide, some site work would have to be done to put in a new slide. Boland said Bristol Marine, which has its business located near Pierce Beach Park, has said it will help fix the existing Big Red Slide and that could get the slide through the next year.
Timothy Turner, the chairman of the Community Preservation Commission, said the town may have more money to spend on CPA projects next year because with taxes going up, the one percent surcharge will be bringing in more revenue for the plan, and a bill in the state Legislature would increase the matching funds to 45 percent, if it passes. Community Preservation Commission member James O’Rourke said that $13,200 in CPA funds that were approved to refurbish fire apparatus have also been given back to the fund, so that also adds to the money.
Community Preservation Commission member Antone Soares Jr. said he thinks the Old Town Hall project is one of the most important projects because so many people drive past the building on County Street. The project involves work on the main entrance, a handicapped ramp and the parking lot.
Boland said the South Field Complex playground, while it was submitted for CPA funding, is not one of the top priorities of the Playground and Recreation Commission. He was also concerned that the proposed location of the playground could be unsafe because it would be too close to an outfield fence. Turner said that of the three playground projects, he thought the Leahey Park proposal would have the most impact because it is in a neighborhood that does not have another recreational facility, while the other two playground proposals were for parks that have ballfields where youths play baseball and softball. He said a lot of young families live in the area of Leahey Avenue. Turner said the playgrounds at the ballfields mostly get used by siblings of youths going to the fields to play in baseball and softball games.
O’Rourke noted the selectmen approved of Buffinton Park being used for a dog park and they are the town’s park commissioners. Turner said it has been made clear to the dog park proponents that the town’s Highway Department will only do what it has been doing at Buffinton Park up until now, not any extra work related to the dog park. He noted parking will also be expanded at Buffinton Park with the development of the dog park.
Somerset Senior Girls’ Softball League President Peter Cabral said he met with a Musco Lighting representative who gave him a quote of $110,167 for lighting at the Ashton Sports Complex. He said he was waiting to hear if National Grid would volunteer to install the lighting to save money on that cost.
Boland said he was in favor of the proposal, as thousands of girls would benefit from the lights over the next 25 years.
O’Rourke said all of the CPA projects that were proposed last week were worthy of funding. The amount of money being requested for CPA projects last week was $602,680.56 while there is only $290,325.40 in the fund. O’Rourke said if the lights were funded, some other CPA projects would not be.
“We just can’t do everything,” O’Rourke said.
O’Rourke said private entities that request CPA funding should pay for part of their projects, such as when the Somerset Baseball League paid for a portion of the cost to put lights up at the South Field Complex. He said the Swansea Little League also paid for part of the costs to put lights up at its field complex.
Cabral said he has volunteered to help run the softball league for 30 years and has not asked the town for money, while putting a lot of work into the fields at the Ashton Sports Complex. He said the league built a new field at the complex, added a second floor to the clubhouse and hosted the Somerset Berkley Regional High School teams while new fields were being built for them.
Soares said he thought the lighting project could wait another year until the town had more CPA funds. He said CPA projects could be turned down at town meeting this year because people are upset about taxes rising in town, even though the CPA funds are not related to that increase. Soares said he loves the idea of the lighting project for the softball field.
The Community Preservation Commission voted five to one in favor of recommending in favor of the funding for the shed.
O’Rourke suggested putting the disc golf course off for a year because he wants to see how the parking and traffic situation will be at Buffinton Park with just the dog park. Boland disagreed. He said the park has not been used for anything, but unlawful purposes, for years.
Boland said more children play on the playground at the Ashton Sports Complex than at the South Field Complex. He said because the league at the Ashton Sports Complex is for older girls, more younger brothers and sisters use the playground while their siblings are playing softball. He said the baseball and softball leagues at the South Field Complex are for younger players, so they are playing baseball and softball, rather than on the playground. He said the Ashton Sports Complex is also in more of a neighborhood environment where families use the playground.