GREENFIELD — Before the Community Preservation Committee meets next week to decide which fiscal year 2026 funding proposals it supports, residents gathered at the John Zon Community Center on Thursday evening to share their thoughts.
The state’s Community Preservation Act allows municipalities to adopt a property tax surcharge of up to 3%, the revenues from which are matched by state funds. Greenfield joined the CPA in 2020 with a local surcharge, allowing the city to receive state-matched funding for projects and initiatives related to housing, historic preservation, open space conservation and outdoor recreation.
On Thursday, March 26, the committee will deliberate on 10 applications consisting of $598,330 in funding requests. With $262,200 in CPA funds at its disposal, the committee will decide which projects it supports. The committee’s recommendations will be sent to City Council, which will have the final say.
Discussing the city clerk’s $30,000 request for a scanner to help restore and protect its historic documents, resident Judith Draper asked how or if the city could share the costs of the equipment with surrounding municipalities. In response, Community Preservation Committee Chair Susan Worgaftik said the option of sharing the scanner, and the costs associated with it, could be further explored.
“The basic problem is that this is what’s known as an ‘unfunded mandate,’ so they’re required to keep these documents, but there’s no official funding from the state and the state requires it,” Worgaftik said. “I think the idea of sharing the equipment is a really good idea.”
One of the larger requests is a $120,000 ask from the Franklin Community Co-op to restore the facade of the former Wilson’s Department Store building on Main Street. Resident and co-op member Al Norman spoke in favor, noting that the facade is, in his opinion, dilapidated and an overall eyesore.
“I will be very delighted to see that facade go. I have not liked looking at that for 30 years, and I think it’s a relic that needs to be taken down,” he said. “I support this project for $120,000 and it would be the last thing I would cut.”
Resident Steve Alves, who described himself as a “keen watcher of Main Street” for more than 40 years, also expressed enthusiastic support for the facade restoration, explaining that the 258 Main St. property is an opportunity for the city to build a “really attractive anchor” downtown.
Alves also expressed support for the Museum of Our Industrial Heritage’s $24,600 request to restore and display historic oil paintings found in the former Kennametal facility after it closed last spring.
“I know how important our industry has been to creating this town,” he said. “It’s the cornerstone to what we have, probably the most prosperous time in our history.”
Norman argued against funding Spike Segundo LLC’s request for the restoration of facades on Bank Row for $65,000, explaining that the project has been ongoing for years and “largely benefits one owner of an LLC.” He also argued against Rural Development Inc.’s $150,000 request to help convert the 176 Main St. property into a mixed-use property with ground-floor retail and apartments on the upper floors.
Other funding requests on which the committee will deliberate include a $100,000 request from the Greenfield Housing Associates Inc. to build two studio-style apartments between 317 and 319 Deerfield St., $30,000 for the Greenfield Housing Authority’s security deposit and rental assistance fund, $20,000 for the Greenfield Conservation Commission and Planning & Development’s proposed conservation efforts at Millers Meadows, $50,000 for the Greenfield Conservation Fund and $8,730 for the Recreation Department to install playground equipment at Beacon Field.