NEWBURYPORT -- The City Council will meet Monday night to review the Community Preservation Committee's recommendations on how to use Community Preservation Act funding for fiscal 2027.
The order on the agenda for the council's regularly scheduled 7 p.m. meeting asks that it appropriate $1,692,868 from estimated revenues for 14 projects and its yearly obligations.
The Community Preservation Act allows for a state funding match with a local 2% property tax surcharge. The money must be used for housing, recreation, open space or historic preservation projects.
The funding source would be fiscal 2027 estimated revenues of $1,441,884 and a community preservation fund balance of $326,041 with $1,767,926 available for grants.
The 14 projects and the recommended funding is as follows:
- Belleville Congregational Church meetinghouse ceiling repair, $91,210;
- rehabilitation and preservation of structurally damaged sanctuary windows at Old South Presbyterian Church, $58,000;
- gravestone restoration at Belleville Cemetery, $2,000;
- fire protection at First Religious Society, Unitarian Universalist meetinghouse and Parish Hall, $117,000;
- St. Paul's Episcopal Church community hall roof, $82,000;
- Priority housing needs and rental assistance supplemental funding, $300,000;
- open space reserve fund, $100,000;
- Hale Street shared use pathway east design, $65,000;
- Woodman Park improvement project, $75,000;
- Inn Street and Patrick Tracy Square restoration, $221,350;
- Jason Sawyer fencing project, $22,000;
- Brown School outdoor space design, $14,999;
- Lower Atkinson multisport court project, Phase 3, $85,000;
- and the Bartlet Mall Frog Pond restoration project, set to be paid with a 15-year, $3.5 million bond.
Yearly obligations include: Newburyport High School stadium bond payment of $125,255; Cherry Hill soccer field bond payment of $10,865; Fuller Field track renovation, Phase 2, bond payment of $49,000; Market Landing Park bond payment of $260,000; and administrative costs, $14,000.
Among the projects on the list that residents have been hearing about frequently is the former Brown School.
In November 2024, Mayor Sean Reardon picked Zeta InSite's plan to redevelop the former school. Zeta InSite was chosen over proposals from YWCA Greater Newburyport as well as CSI Support and Development.
A month later, the Boston-based company revealed a plan to build 29 apartments, all of which would be considered affordable by state metrics.
The Brown School building, which last served as the home of the city's Recreation and Youth Services, has been closed since 2021. It is in one of the most densely populated areas of Newburyport - off Lime and Milk streets in Ward 2.
Now with the gym having been demolished by the city and the cleanup nearly done, the next step for that project would be receiving approval for Community Preservation Act funding recommended for designing a park.
Another item on the council's agenda is the application for the Newburyport Pride Parade and Festival.
The annual Pride Parade is set for June 6, starting at the Bartlet Mall at noon followed by the annual Pride Festival in Waterfront Park. The Pride Festival will be from 1 to 4 p.m. For all the latest on how the city will be celebrating Pride, visit newburyportpride.com.
Matt Petry covers Amesbury and Salisbury for The Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: mpetry@northofboston.com.