GREENFIELD — With the final two projects presented Thursday evening, the Community Preservation Committee is now accepting public feedback on the 11 remaining applications submitted for this year’s funding cycle.

The committee has $193,000 in Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding to allocate among the applicants, of which there are five affordable housing, three historical preservation and three outdoor recreation projects totaling $248,523. In Greenfield, CPA funds are generated through a 1% surcharge on property taxes and a percentage of local revenues are matched by the state.

The Community Preservation Committee will accept public feedback through March 3. The committee will hold a meeting on Thursday, Feb. 27, at 5:30 p.m. at the John Zon Community Center to collect residents’ thoughts on the funding proposals. Folks can also provide feedback directly to the committee throughout the public comment period or fill out a survey that is open through the end of February. The survey can be found at bit.ly/cpcfy25.

“This is an opportunity for the public to weigh in on the projects that have been submitted to us this year for review,” Community Preservation Committee Chair Susan Worgaftik said. “We have applications that are going to make an impact on the lives of Greenfield residents. We want to hear what people think about them.”

The committee reviewed the final two housing projects up for consideration Thursday night at City Hall, with the Greenfield Housing Authority submitting a pair of projects. The Valley Housing Co-op had also submitted a $50,000 funding request to help it acquire a 12-unit multi-family building at 34 Glenbrook Drive, but it withdrew its application prior to the meeting.

In brief presentations by Greenfield Housing Authority Executive Director Jack Redman — who also serves on the Community Preservation Committee, but recuses himself from discussion — he shared the Housing Authority’s requests for $8,000 to fund a portion of a housing development project on Conway Street and $15,000 to create a Security Deposit and Rental Assistance Fund.

The Conway Street project would see the Housing Authority develop four two-bedroom units and one accessible two-bedroom unit on a parcel of land near the intersection of Conway Street and Oak Courts. The agency already has special permit approval and variances to proceed with the project and the $8,000 in funding will pay for geotechnical services from engineering firm O’Reilly, Talbot & Okun.

“We have already done a lot of work on the proposal and this is the next part of the project we are going to need to do,” Redman said. “This is one of the items we would really benefit [from] advancing forward.”

In response to a question from Worgaftik about if all five units could be accessible, Redman said the lot’s size makes it difficult to fit five accessible units onto the parcel, and even if the project were changed to have just three accessible units, it would be “nearly impossible” to get funding.

Finally, the Security Deposit and Rental Assistance Fund would follow a model used by other communities around the state, in which the Housing Authority could provide folks help with paying security deposits and first/last month’s rent, while also providing application assistance.

The Housing Authority would also verify the income of applicants, conduct housing inspections, review lease documents and pay the landlord directly. Redman said the fund could fill the gaps that other programs, such as the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) program, do not. Other programs, while extremely important, often have long timelines that landlords aren’t willing to wait on, so Redman said the Housing Authority will “commit to a two-day processing” timeline to ensure people can get housing.

“This program would allow some flexibility and we would be able to demonstrate how fast folks can get housed,” Redman said, adding that it’s a way for people to “compete in a very competitive housing” market. “What we’re seeing folks struggle with is the security deposit and last month’s rent piece that local landlords are requiring.”

Information on the Housing Authority’s proposals, as well as the other nine applications, can be found on the Community Preservation Committee’s page on the city’s website at bit.ly/41rbKQb.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.