Rockport has $3.1 million in preservation money waiting to be spent, and may speed up Thacher Island

Rockport's Community Preservation Committee is sitting on $3.1 million in grants that town meeting approved but that have not yet been spent, its treasurer said Monday. The committee also agreed to ask the Thacher Island committee whether a bigger grant next year would let it finish the south tower a year sooner, and set its yearly application workshop for Nov. 9.

What happened

• Treasurer Mel Michaels reported $3,119,275.81 in unspent appropriations, including the roughly $1 million approved at the September fall town meeting. The committee has about $200,000 more to award this year than last.
• Two old grants are coming back: $14,371 left from a kayak rack project and $8,794 from a 2014 Front Beach project. The town will reapply if it decides to add a shower or water fountain at the beach.
• The Pigeon Cove fire station roofing and siding work, funded in 2016 and 2023, is now set for spring. The community house flooring is about 95 percent done.
• A study the committee paid for puts the cost of fixing up the American Legion building at $1.9 million. The chair expects a request this year and wants to talk with the Legion about wider public use.
• The committee will meet at 7 p.m. from now on, with 6 p.m. starts for long agendas. The next meeting is Monday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m., the application workshop.

The money that is waiting

Michaels said the $3.1 million figure bothers him. "That's a lot of money to be holding and not getting spent," he said, and projects are moving slowly. Chair Ruth George said most of the open grants are from 2024 through 2027; only the Pigeon Cove fire station and the 2014 Front Beach grant are older. About $600,000 of the total is parked for Thacher Island, and money for the Affordable Housing Trust is also in the pile. Any grant that is not spent comes back to the committee.

George said the Granite Pier, T Wharf and Bradley Wharf projects and the library window study are all recent, but the wharf bids came in above what the committee gave, and she will meet with the town official overseeing them to learn by how much and whether they will ask for more money this year.

Thacher Island: finish a year early

Michaels said the island committee told him last year it could save about $50,000 if its south tower work were done in one year instead of two. George proposed asking the committee to apply for $400,000 next year instead of $200,000. The island group has about $600,000 of its own, members said, is raising about $1 million toward a project of about $2 million, and does much of the work itself with volunteers who are getting older.

Members agreed it was worth the talk. The change would come as the island committee's application for next year and would still need a town meeting vote. The case to voters would be the same one made Monday: save $50,000 and reward the volunteers for their work.

Legion hall

The committee paid for a study of the Legion building, which the town owns and leases to the Legion. George said the report breaks the $1.9 million into site and utilities, the building shell, interior finishes, the second floor canopy and terrace, plumbing, heating and cooling, electrical and a fire alarm. The building has no fire suppression now. She has asked the Community Preservation Coalition what the state law allows on a historic building's interior, since the town must follow the Secretary of the Interior's rehabilitation standards and keep features like the tin ceilings. A member said the committee should be careful about precedent, pointing to its past decisions on church interiors, while another noted the committee paid for heat, plumbing and a roof at the community house. George also wants to ask the Legion about opening the building to more public use and whether veterans' groups and private donors could share the cost.

Looking ahead

George will ask applicants to send photos with next year's applications so they can be shown at town meeting, and the committee's history poster from town meeting is now in the Town Hall lobby, with the library and police station to follow. She said a resident is exploring a community garden proposal, the Affordable Housing Trust is likely to apply again, and the cemetery and Granite Pier projects are done. The committee's website will be updated for the February application deadline.

What was decided

• Sept. 14 minutes: approved by roll call; two members who missed that meeting abstained.
• Meeting time: 7 p.m. going forward, 6 p.m. when the agenda is long.
• Adjourn: unanimous. No money votes were taken.

What happens next

• Monday, Nov. 9, 7 p.m., on Zoom: application workshop for anyone thinking of a preservation project. The chair plans to ask the local cable station to air it.
• Applications for the 2027 round are due in February.
• The Thacher Island committee may be asked to apply for $400,000 for 2027.

Where to find the records

• Committee agenda, Oct. 19
• Recorded Zoom meetings, the town's page with the recording
• Community Preservation Act Committee page, where minutes are posted when approved

Earlier coverage: Thacher Island boats carried 725 visitors this summer; Rockport panel backs predator removal to protect rare rabbits (Oct. 19), the island committee's season report and 2027 plans. Rockport's $41.6 million budget, line by line (Oct. 20), including the nine preservation grants approved at the fall town meeting.

How we did this: Cape Ann Current watched the meeting online and checked names against the agenda and the committee's roster on the town website. These are our meeting notes, not the town's minutes.