Council approves $301,105 in CPA projects

The money, which is collected from an annual surtax of one percent (out of a possible three percent) of residents’ property taxes, is matched by the state from fees received from statewide real estate transactions.

Although the size of state matches have dwindled as of late, Sullivan still commended Braintree officials for their choice of projects.

“There is a lot of work that goes into this, because some communities have made mistakes and have not properly utilized the money, and money has been pulled. However, our CPA funding has been used in the right manner,” he said.

There is currently around $4.5 million in the CPA account, $1 million of which has already been allocated to projects that have not yet begun.

Even though the $300,000 allocation approval last night will shrink the account further, council members approved a reallocation of $700,000 from money left over from finished or uncompleted projects.

Councilors expressed concern that some of the projects, including a match to a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant for new windows in the auditorium, were never even started.

Yet according to Peter Morin, chief of staff and operations for the Town of Braintree, the specifications of the grant, which was meant to transform the auditorium into an emergency shelter, would have meant the purchase of giant metal shutters to cover the massive side windows, a project the town wasn’t willing to go through with.

As for projects the town plans on starting this year, some are only the beginning on larger initiatives, city officials said.

According to Christine Stickney, director of planning and community development, the improvements to the Old Thayer Library are only for the exterior of the building.

A grant for $40,000 from the Massachusetts Historical Commission, in addition with CPA money, will help replace the 137-year-old slate roof as well as install new gutters, downspouts, and complete façade work.

“We’re working with the state through the project, and we hope to go out [to bid] in the fall or in the spring of 2012,” Stickney said.