Heritage Farm Commission pursues National Park Service grant for interpretive signage; student fundraiser planned

The Bolton Heritage Farm Commission said Nov. 4 that it will pursue additional National Park Service grant funding to pay for interpretive signage at the farm, and that a student-led fundraiser will supplement the application.

Rhea Klein, a commission member, said she received correspondence from the National Park Service indicating “additional funding available for the signage grant.” Klein said she, Chairman Arlene Fiano, Town Administrator Josh Kelly and Patrice Carson met Nov. 1 to discuss the grant application and package. Klein said Sue Weintraub of Weintraub and Company has submitted a cost proposal covering signage, a website and marketing that the commission plans to include in the grant request.

Ben Jacobson, a Bolton resident, told the commission that the French Club at Bolton High School has agreed, as part of his Capstone Project, to work with him to organize a fundraiser to raise additional money for the signage.

The commission did not set a final funding target at the meeting; members said the Weintraub cost proposal will inform next steps and that staff would incorporate student fundraising into the overall plan. The commission’s next scheduled planning meeting for the Tri-Centennial and related event planning is Nov. 20, and a separate staff meeting on Nov. 6 will address the business-plan review and event coordination.

Next steps: commissioners will review the Weintraub cost proposal and the grant application materials and return with recommended actions at a future meeting.