WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Community Preservation Committee last Wednesday heard from the final four applicants for fiscal year 2027 grants and clarified how much funding will be available in the fiscal year that begins on July 1.

 

On Wednesday, Feb. 4, the committee will begin — and, potentially, conclude — deliberation on how much Community Preservation Act money it wants to recommend May's town meeting spend and how those funds will be allocated across 10 applications the committee received for this funding cycle.

 

One thing is clear, the committee will not be able to recommend full funding of all the applicants seeking CPA funds in this cycle.

 

The committee has reviewed just north of $1 million in requests, and the town has, at most, $624,000 to allocate to projects that qualify for CPA funding in one of three categories: community housing, historic preservation and open space and recreation.

 

The committee heard presentations from the first six applicants on Jan. 21.

 

One week later, the panel heard from Purple Valley Trails, the Williamstown Historical Museum and the Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation, which has two separate applications for FY27.

 

Bill MacEwen presented the case for Purple Valley Trails, which is seeking $366,911 to complete financing for a new skate park on a town-owned parcel off Stetson Road, on the site where an out-of-date, dilapidated park was torn down last year.