Northborough CPC recommends FY2027 CPA funding for historic windows, park streetscape and ball‑field renovations

The Town of Northborough Community Preservation Committee on Jan. 29 recommended FY2027 funding for three Community Preservation Act projects and approved the committee’s required housing and administrative allocations.

The committee voted unanimously to allocate the CPA administrative fund ($43,500) and to set the 10% affordable‑housing minimum at $87,000, using projected new CPA revenue of $870,000 as the basis for the calculation. It then approved funding recommendations for three applicant projects: Miller Park Historical Society (historic window restoration), Blake Street Park and streetscape improvements, and Milliken ball‑field renovations.

The historical society reported that updated contractor bids had fallen substantially from an earlier high near $331,000 to a recommended bid around $212,700 from the vendor the applicants recommended. A society representative told the committee that “the numbers have come down pretty dramatically,” and that the chosen contractor had visited the site, detailed the scope and confirmed the approach. The application as approved uses primarily new CPA revenue with a small draw on the historical reserve to cover the total historic‑preservation request; the motion to fund the windows carried 8–0.

Erin, the Milliken project representative, said field‑work prices were trimmed by design changes to dugouts, noting the group “was able to get a $10,000 deduction in the dugouts.” Committee discussion cited drainage, maintenance commitments from user groups and schools, and a revised project total discussed at about $227,100; the ball‑field appropriation passed 8–0.

For Blake Street Park and the associated streetscape, members debated value and visual trade‑offs — including switching from granite posts to a black aluminum fence and replacing vertical granite curbing with vertical concrete curbing to save roughly $46,000–$50,000 — and weighed whether to delay the project until the town’s Complete Streets work is further along. The committee approved the full Blake Street Park project and amended the funding split so $612,998 comes from unreserved CPA funds and $170,902 from projected new revenue; that motion also passed unanimously.

Committee staff presented the CPA resource picture that underpinned the votes: projected new revenue ~$870,000; historical reserve ~$4,002.42; unreserved balance ~$998,005.96; and combined resources reported at about $1,872,838. Members said that, given staff time already invested and competitive bidding considerations, advancing these projects this fiscal year made fiscal and scheduling sense.

All motions on the night passed by voice vote with recorded tallies described as unanimous (8–0). The committee also approved a Whitecliff bond payment noted in the budget presentation and set a tentative follow‑up meeting for March 5 to finalize any remaining business.

The committee’s recommendations will be carried forward to Town Meeting for final appropriation and any further required contract or funding agreements with vendor entities.