$1.9 Million In Community Preservation Projects To Go Before Town Meeting

CHATHAM – Seven projects seeking $1.9 million in community preservation funds will go before voters at the May annual town meeting.

 The community preservation committee (CPC) last week recommended all but one of the eight applications filed for this year’s funding round. Projects include reconstruction of a town pier, restoration of a historic barn, preservation of murals at the Atwood House Museum and funding for affordable housing.

 Finance Director Carrie Mazerolle said anticipated revenue from the Community Preservation Act (CPA) property tax surcharge this year will total $1.3 million. The committee also has other funds available, including an undesignated fund balance of about $590,000; $900,000 in reserved open space and recreation funds; and $72,000 turned back to the town from completed CPA projects.

 CPA projects must be endorsed by the committee in order to be placed on the May 10 annual town meeting warrant.

 Three historic preservation projects are seeking community preservation funding, including restoration of iconic murals at the Atwood House Museum.

 The murals were originally created by Chatham artist Alice Stallknecht in the 1930s and ‘40s and first hung in the First Congregational Church and later in the artist’s studio barn on Stage Harbor Road. When she died in the 1970s, she bequeathed both the barn and murals to the Chatham Historical Society, which moved them to their current home next to the Atwood House where they have been on display since 1977.

 According to the historical society’s funding application, the murals were restored between 1973 and 1977 by the artist’s grandson, George Wight. The new restoration is expected to take two years, beginning in the fall, with work being done during the off-season so that the murals can remain on display to the public during the summer.

 The three murals — “Christ Preaching to the Multitude,” “The Circle Supper” and “Every Man to his Trade — are considered one of the museum’s main treasures. They depict local residents in scenes from the Bible, a community supper, and in traditional occupations. The paintings “speak directly to the community,” and their preservation will benefit residents and visitors for years to come, according to the application.

 The paintings will be cleaned, restored, glazed and reframed. The museum plans to hire conservators Debra Dickson of Dickson Fine Arts and Kerri Thomas of Back Bay Framery to accomplish the work, which is expected to cost $416,188. The CPC approved $408,000 for the projects, which deducts the sales tax from the total.

 The CPC approved $275,000 to complete restoration of an historic barn at the Nickerson Family Association property on Orleans Road. Originally located on Shell Drive, the barn was thought to have been built by the son of William Nickerson, the town’s first European settler. Studies showed, however, that while it contains material dating from the mid-18th century, it was most likely built later and was not the original barn.

 In 2022, $300,000 in community preservation funds were approved for the project, but the barn’s condition proved to be worse than anticipated. The new money will allow completion of the restoration.

 The final historic preservation project involves restoration of 127 gravestones in Union Cemetery. The town’s cemetery commission is seeking $50,035 for the work, which follows a similar gravestone restoration project at Seaside Cemetery which was also funded with CPA money.

New Pier And Marsh Study

 Reconstruction of the Little Mill Pond pier was included in the $11 million omnibus waterfront infrastructure bond that was rejected by voters at May’s annual town meeting. Director of Natural Resources Greg Berman initially applied for $250,000 in CPC money for the project, the total cost of which is projected at $500,000. The additional $250,000 was to come from a separate town meeting article.

 But Mazerolle said the project was “not on the radar” for this year. CPC members agreed the pier is “well used” by the public, and with a sufficient reserve in the open space and recreation category, they voted to double the request and ask town meeting to approve the full $500,000 reconstruction cost. If the money is approved, the work would be completed in the winter and spring of 2026.

 The energy and climate action committee and the department of natural resources applied for $140,000 for salt marsh mitigation and preservation in response to climate change. Several studies of salt marshes in town are already underway, and the new project will coordinate existing research and consolidate data to model sea level rise impacts on salt marshes in Champlain Creek, Cotchpinicut, Frost Fish Creek, Minister’s Point, Morris Island, Muddy Creek, Nickerson Neck, Red River and Tom’s Neck, according to the application. 

Voters will be asked to endorse $50,000 to complete a seven-year open space and recreation plan, which will inventory town open space and recreation properties, identify community needs and develop a list of needs, and assessments of existing facilities, according to the application. The plans will take eight to 12 months to complete.

Affordable Housing

 As it has for the past several years, the CPC endorsed allocating $500,000 to the affordable housing trust fund. After a similar measure barely passed last May’s annual town meeting, CPC members questioned whether that would be the case again this year, especially in light of the town awarding a contract to develop two affordable housing projects to the for-profit developer Pennrose. Bruce Beane suggested the appropriation may get more support if it is targeted to homeownership projects, rather than rentals, such as the Pennrose development.

 It wasn’t clear if such a condition could be imposed on the request. Several CPC members said the funding request should go before voters as submitted.

 “Let’s see what the town says,” said member Alan Mowry. The committee voted unanimously to support the request.

 The only application rejected by the committee was a request for $27,500 to rehabilitate town-owned tennis courts on Depot Road. CPC members determined that the work involved maintenance, which CPA funds cannot be used for.

The group also approved $15,000 for its administrative budget and allocated $140,000 each for historic preservation, open space and recreation and affordable housing reserve accounts.