The Mattapoisett Community Preservation Committee fielded four requests during its January 14 meeting, and of greater interest than the merits of three of the projects was their funding sources.
One familiar project came under more direct scrutiny, and that was $120,000 request from both the Mattapoisett Bike Path and Friends of the Mattapoisett Bike Path to fund pre-design documents for Phase 2a.
Chairman Chuck McCullough told the committee that the Community Preservation Act has already resulted in close to $400,000 in funding for the bike path spread out across six to eight awards.
“We have not always fully funded their application. This is a lot of permits and it’s a ton of money … for a mile. Some of the justification for it, I just don’t see it as reasonable,” said CPC member Bill Hall.
Member Margaret DeMello took issue with the route, and McCullough said that it is so wet up by the state building there may need to be some type of bridge. “We may end up meeting with the Bike Path Committee on two occasions,” he said, noting that the same discussions will occur with Mattapoisett’s Capital Planning Committee.
Member Marilou Newell clarified that an award from the current request would be used solely for exploratory purposes.
It was also noted that the Marion Pathways Committee sent the CPC a letter supporting the plan’s entry point to the neighboring town.
The CPC fielded two requests from Mattapoisett’s Select Board. A $54,495 request would fund repairs to the existing skatepark behind the fire station and Center School basketball courts, along with the construction of new pickle ball courts. A $10,000 request would fund repair of the swordfish weathervane seasonally located on Long Wharf.
Along with the obvious question as to why the Select Board delivered these requests, a philosophical question arose of CPA funds addressing projects that at least in part could be classified as maintenance.
Having heard at the completion of the fire station that the town would repair the area disturbed by construction, McCullough asked, “Why isn’t the skateboard park falling under that umbrella?” He also wondered aloud where the Recreation Department fits into the situation.
Committee members were unclear on the location of the pickleball courts in the funding request, some suggesting that they shared the same space as the basketball court.
Hall shared concern over the din of repeated pickleball pelting near neighboring houses. “Pickelball’s an annoying noise, it’s the smacking of that pickleball,” he said. “I know it sounds foolish, but the ball against the paddle is noisy.”
CPC member James Pierson agreed with McCullough that the requests should be resubmitted as separate line items because, if one fails, they all fail.
As a member of the Field family known for its care of the swordfish weathervane, CPC member Sue Wilbur provided context to the Select Board’s $10,000 request, explaining that the original construction would be repaired a final time, taken out of harm’s way and displayed indoors. The request would include the construction of a replica model with modern materials better suited to brave the elements.
“I think that their goal is to get the fiberglass one up for the summer, but this one should not go back up,” said Wilbur, noting that Jimmy Broadwater has offered to recast it and Triad Boat Yard offered to take it down with its crane. “A lot of people have volunteered their time that are not looking to get paid.”
Newell suggested a fundraising opportunity for the summer months, the goal being to avoid dipping into the Historical Commission’s budget to complete the project.
Another $10,000 request, this one from the Historical Commission, would fund a town-wide inventory of historic sites, buildings and other features conducted by a professional historic researcher. McCullough compared the effort to the digitizing of Cushing Cemetery records, an endeavor he considered entirely worthwhile.
Newell told the committee that the town’s Historical Commission was charged with identifying historic sites in the late 1970s into the early ’80s. As a result, Mattapoisett’s Town Hall, for instance, is not on any list of importance.
The Town of Marion has extensively gone through the two-year process and offer Mattapoisett officials guidance.
A historic survey, said Newell, would reveal the historic value of parcels north of Route 6.
McCullough plans to send out a draft of questions to guide presentations to be made in what likely will necessitate four future CPC meetings inviting the Select Board, Historical Commission and Bike Path Committee.
The next step, he said, will be a public meeting of the committee where the members will rank the requests with use of a scoring tool.
The next meeting of the CPC is scheduled for Friday, January 28, at 5:00 pm.
Mattapoisett Community Preservation Committee
By Mick Colageo