Sharon, president of the Great Barrington Library Fund (GBLF), urged the Finance Committee at the Nov. 18 meeting to endorse a multi-year Community Preservation Act (CPA) grant request to the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) that would provide town-backed matching funds for a Ramsdale Library renovation.

Sharon said the Ramsdale renovation is already in MBLC (Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners) review and that MBLC grants are distributed in stages; a town commitment is typically required to secure matching state funds and to demonstrate local support when applying for foundation grants. She asked the committee to consider a CPC request of $1.5 million as part of a funding package that could reduce the town’s share of a $5–6 million project from about 45% to roughly 15% if other grants and fundraising succeed.

"We need a town commitment in the form of a sizable CPA grant over several years as a ballast," Sharon said when the committee opened the floor to citizen comments. She said the library fund has raised seed money to cover legal and filing fees and that outside fundraising will be difficult without clear municipal backing. Sharon noted prior precedents where towns used multi-year CPA commitments for major capital projects and requested the Finance Committee's public support at CPC hearings.

Committee members thanked Sharon for the briefing and said the request will be considered as part of the CPC process and relevant budget discussions. Any CPA allocation would require CPC review and Town Meeting approval.