CPAC Begins Deliberations on FY27 Applications
This meeting was held over Zoom and was recorded.
Present
Katie Zobel (Chair), Marc Barrette, Jonas Cox, Jason Dorney, Robin Fordham, Angus McLeod, Tim Neale, Bob Saul, and Ellen Keiter
Staff: Leah Carver (Senior Accountant), Sean Mangano (Finance Director), and Dave Ziomek (Assistant Town Manager)
The Community Preservation Act Committee (CPAC) met on January 15, 2026 to begin deliberations about recommendations for funding of projects for FY27. There are 16 applications this year for a total of $6.5 million in requests. Amherst Finance Director Sean Mangano provided an updated budget of $3.1 million in funds available for distribution.
Chair Katie Zobel had asked members to come to the meeting with their individual initial ranking (from 1 to 5) of all projects (1 being least support for funding and 5 being most support for funding). A straw poll was conducted and discussion began on each project. The average rankings at the end of the meeting produced three general groupings as follows (hyperlinks provided to each application):
Five projects averaged scores between 4 and 5
Amity Street Redevelopment ($450,000)
Civil War Memorial Tablets ($75,000)
Strong House Stabilization ($275,148)
War Memorial Bathhouse ($1,500,000)
Seven projects averaged scores between 3 and 4
Amherst Municipal Affordable Housing Trust ($575,000)
Mill River Historical Survey ($125,000)
North & South cemeteries restoration ($100,000)
Community Field Skate Park ($101,200)
Recreation & Conservation area signage ($100,000)
Trails, bridges, boardwalks improvements (100,000)
Town Hall slate roof restoration ($1,000,000)
Four projects averaged scores between 2 and 3
Mill RIver passive recreation ($85,000)
Goodwin Church Restoration ($48,000)
Pickleball courts at Groff Park ($650,000)
Jones Library building project ($1,252,306)
Discussion of each project and adjustments of individual rankings will continue at future meetings. Committee members will ultimately cast final votes on whether to recommend projects to the Town Council for funding authorization and for what amount. Assistant Town Manager Dave Ziomek indicated that town staff could provide options for whether to recommend borrowing or cash funding once the committee has a final list in mind.
The next CPAC meeting will be held onJanuary 22, 2026 starting at 6 p.m. with an additional meeting on February 4, 2026 if needed. The committee’s recommendations must be approved by the Town Council.
