CPA ( Community Preservation Act) Tax

[mary388.livejournal.com]

Does anyone know how this tax fund will be administered? Who will be on the board and how will the funds be allocated.

Comments

[fefie.livejournal.com]

Some info about it was posted on the City website last week:

http://www.somervillema.gov/news/four-community-preservation-committee-appointees-submitted-aldermen

[mary388.livejournal.com]

Thanks for this site info.

[ron_newman]

I would really like to see this money spent on the West Branch Library (needs air-conditioning and ADA accessibility) and the Prospect Hill Tower.

[greyautumnrain.livejournal.com]

Yes on the the West Branch Library accessibility. ADA accessibility also means stroller accessible. I actually avoided taking my kids to the library for a long time because it is such a nightmare for strollers. To get to the kids section you need to go up the big flight of stairs to the front door, then down a winding stair to the basement. Thankfully I found out this past summer that the librarians will often leave the back door to the basement open which means you can park the stroller in back and just navigate down one short flight of steps, which helps a lot for getting small kids to the library, but it's not a substitute for real accessibility.

[jadelennox]

Sometimes I think the government really need to do a better job selling the universal design aspect of accessibility. Accessible spaces (physical and online) are also improved for parents with strollers and small children, delivery people, employees carrying heavy things, seniors, temporarily able bodied folk who twist an ankle, computer users with slow connections, suitcase users... the list goes on. People resent doing the work to make spaces accessible but you don't see them avoiding elevators once they exist. Sigh.

[achinhibitor.livejournal.com]

My impression is that all new construction is well-accessible. The trouble is that most buildings aren't new, especially in a place as unfriendly to new construction as Boston. (Massachusetts has the oldest housing stock in the US.) And the cost of retrofitting accessibility is enormous compared to the small increase in value. (Not a lot of shopkeepers are willing to pay extra for an accessible store.)

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

Unless the library is a historic building, I don't think CPA funds can be used in this manner (note: I'm not saying the work shouldn't be done). As I understand it, CPA is only for historic preservation, affordable housing, and open space projects and each year some of the $ must be allocated to each tier.

I've lived in 2 towns/cities with CPA on the books and every year it creates an insane amount of squawking and cries of corruption, whining, etc. I'm a big fan of the program but it's such a headache sometimes.

[ron_newman]

it's a Carnegie library built in 1909 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The challenge will be to balance accessibility and historic preservation.

[pearlythebunny.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure at last spring's Ward 6 Resistat meeting, someone mentioned that $3.5 million was being allocated for the West Branch Library in next year's budget. (I forget the details, but there's another Resistat meeting coming up, so you can ask for clarification.)

[intuition-ist.livejournal.com]

and boy howdy does the library need it -- peeling paint/rotting wood upstairs, and a basement that floods, and no elevator. i'm kinda surprised they're keeping the kids' books in the basement, since the likelihood of mold is high. it would be really nice if that building was fixed up so that it could showcase the library, not just house it.