Wrentham Community Preservation Committee Announces Funding Application Process

WRENTHAM — Town Administrator Kevin Sweet is pleased to announce that the Wrentham Community Preservation Committee has finalized its funding process and application, opening the opportunity for eligible projects to request funds from the Community Preservation program.

Funds have accrued from a real estate tax surcharge in Wrentham, which are then partially matched by state funds to increase the overall investment impact made by the Town of Wrentham.

“The process is designed to guide eligible projects through the Community Preservation Committee so that they are clearly a benefit to the Wrentham community, while also preparing the project for ultimate approval at the Wrentham Town Meeting by citizen vote,” said Barry Kassler, Chairman of the Wrentham Community Preservation Committee.

The CPC will review applications to ensure the associated projects benefit the community and fall inside the state mandated guidelines for eligibility, including historical, recreational, open space and community housing projects.

The Community Preservation funds can be used to acquire, create or preserve projects that fall under the above categories, and can also help rehabilitate or restore properties that were acquired with Community Preservation funds.

“These funds, and the projects that will be born out of them, will serve to not only improve Wrentham, but to help ensure that our community’s character and small-town feel are kept intact as the town continues to grow,” Town Administrator Sweet said.

The multi-step process includes an eligibility assessment and then a funding request to the Community Preservation Committee. If the committee approves the application, the committee then recommends the project for funding at Town Meeting for voter approval.

The eligibility application deadline is March 31, 2019, with the subsequent funding application due no later than April 30, 2019.

If approved by the committee, projects would go in front of the voters at the Fall Town Meeting in November 2019.

The application is available for download at the Town of Wrentham website under the Community Preservation Committee section.

Wrentham voters passed the Community Preservation ballot initiative in November 2016, and the committee was formed in mid-2017. The first state funding match is due to Wrentham in November 2018.

Wrentham is one of about 173 communities in Massachusetts to approve the Community Preservation Act.

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