Great Barrington — Just when the Community Preservation Committee thought all applications for Community Preservation Act funding had been turned in at the December 1, 4 p.m. deadline, they had a surprise: four applications were late — by 10 to 30 minutes, according to Committee Chair Karen W. Smith.
Applicants said they were thwarted either by snarled Main Street construction traffic, or technological glitches, according to Smith.
This may create a dilemma for the committee, which has now decided to vote on whether to accept the late applications at the start of their Tuesday, December 9 meeting, though the policy, Smith said, “has been reviewed, restated, repeated and acknowledged over months by different committee members.” The meeting was originally scheduled to decide which of 13 final projects will receive CPA funding and how much.
Originally, the committee had 21 applications deemed eligible for CPA funding after a preliminary application. The second and final application, which outlines each project in detail, reduced the total applications to hit Town Hall by the deadline to 13.
The committee had made a point of issuing a warning to applicants early on in the process that late applications would not be considered. On the application itself the rule is in bold, that applicants must submit “one electronic copy and 10 hard copies…on or before the deadline.” At meetings, Smith and other committee members said they thought it prudent to hold fast to the rule. But tomorrow the committee will decide the fate of the four: Great Barrington Fairgrounds (GBFG), Construct, Inc., Project Native and Flag Rock Farm.
Whether to accept the late applications, Smith said, “will be reviewed by the committee, as it was the committee that made the decision. It is the committee’s decision and only the committee’s decision. It’s not mine, not the Town Manager’s — it is a group of nine people who have worked very hard over the last year or so to determine the best path for the allocation of the town and state generated monies for these projects.”
The CPA was adopted by the town in 2012 and has $1.2 million to give to historic preservation, community housing and open space/recreation projects. The program is funded by a 3 percent surcharge on local property taxes and matched by state money. The town recently received a 48 percent state match of $190,000.
For Construct, Inc., which applied for pre-development and development costs for new affordable housing, the tardiness was due to a “technological issue,” said Executive Director Cara Davis, who said the electronic copy had been emailed by the deadline, but the 10 hard copies required for committee members to review never made it to Town Hall. “We were done, but the copier broke down at the last minute,” Davis said. “We ran out of time. It’s our responsibility. And it wasn’t feasible to Quik Print by the end of the day.”
Construct applied for $110,000 in CPA funds to be paid out over a two-year period, Davis said. “If they could make an exception it would be terrific,” she added. “We can submit again next year. I haven’t totally given up on it, but it was unfortunate.”
“Our printer had a fatal error,” said Project Education and Outreach Coordinator Karen LeBlanc, who “personally” arrived at town hall at “4:04 and they said no.” That was after she high-tailed it to Staples for emergency printing of 10 hard copies, and on her way to Town Hall, hit construction traffic on Main. The organization had submitted the electronic copy by the deadline, she said.
LeBlanc said she understood the importance of the deadline and that “we didn’t meet the letter of the law.” She said Project Native wrote a joint letter with GBFG asking the committee to “make an allowance.”
Project Native Board Chairman Erik Bruun said the deadline was “understood and appreciated,” and the letter “is not intended to be confrontational in any way, it was just a request. This is not a fight.”
“We’re all working for the common good,” Bruun added, “and many of us are volunteers — but whatever their decision is will be respected.”
Bruun said that normally Main Street construction ends at 3 p.m. but “for some reason it went on till 4 p.m.,” on December 1.
Project Native applied for $7,500 to extend, create and maintain a trail system on its 54-acre property, featuring a wildlife sanctuary and open meadow. The trails are open to the public year round and free of charge, LeBlanc said.
Great Barrington Fairground’s application arrived at town hall at 4:06 p.m., Founder Janet Elsbach said in an email. GBFG seeks $440,000 for work to the site and some of its structures. Elsbach further wrote “that consideration of how to allocate CPA funds is a matter that the Committee takes seriously, with good reason.” But Elsbach said “the spirit of community collaboration that established the CPA fund…as well as the many volunteers involved and hours invested in this long process all warranted a respectful request for consideration of the extenuating circumstance of a traffic situation which normally concludes at 3 p.m….”
Flag Rock Farm is looking for $200,000 to help create a river walk and trails from Housatonic village up to Flag Rock. Ethan Culleton of Flag Rock Farm could not be reached for comment.
