Community Preservation Committee

Contact information:

Meetings: Monthly, at Town Hall Board of Selectmen’s Office generally on the second Thursday at 7 pm.

Phone: 508 678 4946 (Warren Messier, chair)
Email: wmmessier180@charter.net (Warren Messier, chair)
Committee members

Warren Messier, Chair (Finance Committee)
Elizabeth Collins, Co-Chair (Housing Authority)
Charles Appleton (At-Large)
David Emilita (Planning Board)
Janet Jones (Historical Commission)
Michael Sullivan (Conservation Commission)
Timothy Gillespie (Recreation Commission)
Lino Rego (At-Large)
Betty Slade (At-Large)

Useful documents

Note: Documents and forms are in "PDF" format - or in some cases "Word" format as well. To read PDF format you need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader . Although many computers already have this installed, if you don't have a copy you can download it here. The advantage of "Word" format documents is you can fill in the form - assuming you have Microsoft Word - on your computer by typing in the correct places.

Please mail or deliver the completed application to the Community Preservation Committee, Town Hall, 816 Main Road, Westport, MA. 02790.

About the Community Preservation Committee and the Community Preservation Act

The Community Preservation Act (CPA, MGL 44B) was signed on September 14, 2000. The Westport 2001 Annual Town Meeting adopted the Community Preservation Act and voters approved it at the 2002 town elections. The CPA allows a town to adopt a property tax surcharge. Westport approved a 2% surcharge on real estate taxes which began on July 1, 2002. The state has matched these funds 100% over the past five years for a total of $1,555,443.

A minimum of 10% of the annual revenues of the fund must be used for each of the three core community concerns: historic preservation, open space and affordable housing. The remaining 70% can be allocated for any combination of the allowed uses, or for land for recreational use. This gives each community the opportunity to determine its priorities, plan for its future, and have the funds to make those plans happen.

CPC consists of nine members appointed by the Board of Selectmen representing the Conservation Commission, Historical Commission, the Planning Board, Recreation Commission, the Housing Authority and the Finance Committee and three at-large members.

For more detailed information, please see the report of the Community Preservation Committee in the Westport Annual Town Reports. Information on CPA may be found at: http://www.communitypreservation.org/index.cfm.

Information on other participating communities see http://www.communitypreservation.org/CPAVotes.cfm.

Information on Municipal Affordable Housing Trusts can be found here: http://www. mhp.net/community_initiatives/resources.php?page_function=list&resource_category_id=74

Meetings:

Monthly, at Town Hall Board of Selectmen’s Office generally on the second Thursday at 7 pm.

CPC Projects

Committed as of November 15, 2008

Open Space

Len Santos Farm/WYAA $500,000
Forge Pond $240,000
Wood Farm $260,000
Gonet Farm $200,000
Estuaries Project (OS/HP) $120,000 (2 yrs)
Waterway Restoration (OS/HP) $ 95,000 (3 yrs)
Dunham Brook Conservation Area $250,000 (- $140,000 state grant)
Open Space Reserves $179,050

Historic Preservation

Town Hall Restoration $160,000
Wolf Pit School $ 57,590
Town Farm $ 28,750
Friends Meeting House $ 22,500
Bell School $ 19,775
Town Records $ 10,000
Town Historic Signs $ 9,156
Westport Point Church $ 9,000
Town Farm Research $ 8,050
Historic Cemetery Restoration $ 6,023
Hicks/Handy Records $ 3,075
Town Historic Maps $ 2,500
Town Historic Makers $ 1,308
Town Corner Signs $ 1,200
Waite-Potter Chimney Preservation $16,118
Preservation of Windows in Historic Handy House $6,930
Preservation of Historic Sanford Road School #15, $42,000
Restoration of Town Hall Annex, $34,000
Preservation of Stone Sea Walls and Clean-up of Contaminated Soil at Historic Head of Westport $32,000 (2 years)
Automatic Door Openers ADA for Historic Council on Aging Building
Restoration of Historic LIfesaving Station $70,000
Historic Photo Collection Preservation $2,000
Historic Preservation Oscar Palmer Farm $200,000
Historic Preservation Reserves $ 5,844

Community Housing

Perry property $750,000 (2 yrs)
Community Housing $ 55,000
Planning Board/New Housing $5,000
Community Housing New Site Project $42,000
Oscar Palmer Farm Affordability Restriction $200,000
Community Housing Reserves $80,000

State Match Total receipts from state represented 100% state match of 2 % surcharge on local real estate tax bills for fiscal years 2003-2007. For fiscal year 2008 it is 67.5%: