After some discussion about long-term viability, the CPA Committee voted to recommend $200,000 to nonprofit Roots and Dreams and Mustard Seeds to renovate its historic storefront on Fenn Street.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Community Preservation Committee has voted to fully fund eight applications in community housing, historic preservation, and open space and recreation totaling almost $649,000.

This year's Community Preservation Act recommendation of $648,523 is about $170,000 less than the fiscal 2023 allocation of $818,435. It will go to the City Council for final approval.

"This year, the budget is not very tight," Chair Danielle Steinmann said.

There was one housing project, three historic preservation projects, and four recreation projects. Five were from the city: $150,000 for the Affordable Housing Trust, $74,500 for a boat wash at Onota Lake, $46,161 for improvements to the Egremont Elementary School playground, $8,000 for trees in Park Square, and $7,500 for the restoration of historic piers at Springside Park.

The Affordable Housing Trust was the top-rated ask by committee members. Established last year with an initial $500,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, it aims to help the city address housing needs that disproportionately affect under-resourced residents.

"It's really thoughtful and it seems like a really impactful way as well for us to direct funding to affordable housing in this way," Alexandra Groff said.

Libby Herland said she is "very comfortable" funding this effort.

"I really like the idea of the Affordable Housing Trust and I'm glad that we are in a position where we can fund it," she explained.

Similarly, Carol Nichols said it is "so desperately needed." She hopes that the trust can find additional sources of funding and collaborations to support its mission.

A $200,000 request from nonprofit Roots and Dreams and Mustard Seeds for a building rehabilitation was also rated highly. The organization plans to transform a historical storefront at 129 Fenn St. into a space for community engagement and services for the city's vulnerable families.

Founded in 2017, the nonprofit aims to empower vulnerable community members through economic participation and ownership opportunities.

The full ask was supported by the committee but there was some discussion about the longevity of Roots and Dreams.

Though she supports the nonprofit's mission and recognizes the need, Herland was concerned that it may not have the gravitas of other organizations in the community, as she hadn't heard about them before, and wondered what would happen if it dissipated after being funded.

Anthony DeMartino echoed her concern.

"This is a request for almost 25 percent of our total allocation for the year and an organization that really doesn't have the longevity yet and the staying power," he said.

"That said, I don't know if this project gets done, or at least gets off the ground, without a big chunk coming from CPA. They don't have a lot of other resources right now. They don't list really many other additional funding sources available to them right now. This project, at least if nothing else, shores up the building so that I can go forward from there. I, too, would be concerned about fully funding it but the seed for it, I think, is important to see where they go for future requests."

Groff said the organization had one of the highest community members in parts of the community that it touches.

"And I think that we haven't had many applications come through during this period, at least that I have really seen, touch such a broad audience and such a wide variety of underserved communities that our money has not touched in other ways," she explained.

"And I think this will be a case for us of really funding our first, to your point Libby, someone who really is smaller and starting at more of a grassroots level than others. So I think it's a different path for us but I think it's important to think about how we could also offer continued support to make sure that the success of the project will continue."

Steinmann said it is important for CPA funds to reach all communities in the city, not just well-known organizations such as Berkshire Theatre Group, which has benefited in the past. 

"We need to be thinking beyond our own sort of realm here and I think that, given their definite track record in terms of support and programming for entrepreneurs and for different startup businesses in the community, that is definitely something that I think having that stable place to build from in terms of the historic structure that they're hoping to stabilize is important," she said.

"I also think that this is an important historic structure for the city beyond the organization that is currently stewarding it. So I think that's another consideration that we should think about."

The building dates back to the 1830s and was once owned by the Union for Home Work, one of the nation's first philanthropic societies.

If the organization were to no longer exist, the responsibility to upkeep the building in terms of historic preservation rolls over to the property owner. There is also a deed restriction on the property.

The reassurance made Herland feel better about the application.

"It hit a lot of our criteria serving an underserved population, local people are doing the work, so I think there were a lot of reasons why this scored really high," she said. "But ultimately what it's about is preserving that building and even if somebody else is using the building in the future or it's being used for a different purpose, that the building is preserved. That's what the CPA money is about."

DeMartino said they are supporting a necessary, worthwhile, and purposeful organization while at the same time supporting an important building's restoration.

On the application for the Onota Lake boat wash station, the commission did request that the city looks into a greener way to heat the facility's water that does not use fossil fuels.

The recommended funding applications:

• $150,000 for an Affordable Housing Trust from the city of Pittsfield
• $200,000 for a building renovation from Roots and Dreams and Mustard Seeds
• $74,500 for the Onota boat wash from the City of Pittsfield
• $46,161 for Egremont Elementary School playground improvements from the city of Pittsfield
• $8,000 for Park Square trees from the city of Pittsfield
• $37,212 for the Wilson Park rehabilitation from the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission
• $125,150 for repairs on the Colonial Theatre
• $7,500 for the restoration of historic piers at Springside Park from the city of Pittsfield

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