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Westborough CPC recommends four projects for Town Meeting, including cemetery restoration and school playground
Summary
The Town of Westborough Community Preservation Committee on Jan. 5 recommended four warrant articles to Town Meeting — Bowman Street conservation-area safety improvements ($25,500), a Hastings School playground contribution (CPA request $150,000), Midland Cemetery restoration ($100,000), and window rehabilitation at 33 West Main ($127,900). The committee also planned a brief Feb. 2 meeting to finalize warrant drafts and discussed public outreach.
Westborough’s Community Preservation Committee reviewed four grant requests on Jan. 5 and unanimously recommended that Town Meeting consider funding each as separate warrant articles.
The committee recommended $25,500 from the Community Preservation Fund (CPA) to complete safety and access work at the Bowman Conservation area, chiefly rope-and-post handrails to supplement recently completed steps. The chair displayed photographs and rail samples during the presentation and members described the request as straightforward.
Committee members next recommended CPA support for a Hastings School playground replacement. Committee materials stated the overall playground project is approximately $800,000 and the applicants requested $150,000 from CPA; committee members noted that other funding sources (capital allocations, grants, local partners) are anticipated and that CPA funds would remain available if those sources are not approved. Members praised documentation showing neighborhood use and pedestrian access.
The committee recommended $100,000 to restore roughly 50 priority headstones and one obelisk at Midland Cemetery. Members discussed doing outreach before Town Meeting — including potential cemetery tours and working with local schools — to show “before-and-after” impacts and to highlight historic resources protected by CPA funding.
Finally, the committee recommended $127,900 from CPA for rehabilitation of historic windows at 33 West Main (the Westboro TV building). Members noted letters of support and discussed the potential for additional work beyond windows if rot or other issues are discovered; the committee emphasized that the current recommendation is specifically for the windows and that contingency or expanded work would require separate review.
All four project recommendations will be drafted as individual warrant articles and circulated for committee review. The chair said the committee expects to present the CPA fiscal-year contribution article (Fiscal 2027) first at Town Meeting to provide voters with a brief refresher on the CPA and how funds are allocated; the committee also tentatively scheduled a brief meeting for Feb. 2 to review the drafted articles before they go to the warrant and to coordinate presentations to the finance committee and select board as needed.
Next steps: the committee will prepare draft warrant language and supporting materials, coordinate outreach with the community advocate, and invite applicants to present at follow-up hearings if questions arise. The recommendations are advisory and must still be approved (or modified) by Town Meeting voters.
