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Finance Committee backs CPC package, funds town‑hall clock tower and housing projects
Summary
The Finance Committee recommended the Community Preservation Committee’s (CPC) warrant (Article 10), endorsing 11 of 16 projects and prioritizing the Acton Town Hall clock tower restoration, trail accessibility, affordable‑housing support and McManus Manor reimbursement amid $1.9 million available and $2.8 million requested.
The Acton Finance Committee voted to recommend Article 10, the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) warrant, after a presentation from CPC chair Jim Coleman. Coleman told the committee that “we had a little over 1.9 million dollars available and we got requests for 2. Almost 2.8 million,” and that the CPC was therefore recommending a pared list of 11 projects out of 16 applications.
Coleman outlined the largest recommended awards. A $598,000 recommendation for restoring the Town Hall clock tower followed an engineer’s report documenting rotten and deflected timbers and a bulging ceiling; Coleman said the report called the condition “not necessarily a tomorrow risk, but certainly over the short term, a risk of falling off the town hall.” The CPC recommended funding targeted repairs at Theater Three ($17,000) focused on tying rods and a leaky vestibule roof rather than the larger $147,000 renovation requested. The West Acton Library was allotted $15,000 for an access ramp plus $1,000 for a CPC recognition sign after shelving was ruled ineligible under the Community Preservation Act.
On housing, Coleman said the CPC recommended $91,000 toward 416 Great Road (a small Habitat for Humanity apartment/office project) and recommended $200,000 toward McManus Manor’s $300,000 request, noting that much of McManus’s work had already been completed and that the committee expected the project to seek additional funds later if necessary. During questions, committee members pressed for a full accounting of cumulative town and CPC contributions to McManus Manor; Coleman read a development budget and financing breakdown that attributed roughly $29,709,006 to the project’s total development budget and identified town and other contributions.
The committee also discussed recurring CPC commitments: a $40,000 annual contribution to a Regional Housing Services office, an open‑space allocation increased in the warrant to $850,940 (including $25,000 for acquisition transaction costs), and an administrative support estimate of $885,706 to reflect staff time. Members clarified that CPC appropriations typically carry a three‑year spending window.
After discussion, the Finance Committee moved, seconded and recorded a recommendation in favor of Article 10. The recommendation will appear on the town meeting warrant; final spending approvals remain with town meeting and the CPC’s published allocations.
The committee said members and staff will provide additional numerical breakdowns (state vs. surcharge vs. recapture) when available.
The Finance Committee’s recommendation will be part of the material voters see at Town Meeting; the article’s ultimate approval and any allocation specifics depend on the town meeting vote and final CPC actions.
