Community Preservation Committee 10/06/2026

The City of Worcester Community Preservation Committee met on October 6, 2026, to review Community Preservation Act (CPA) projects, contract progress, and updates to the annual preservation plan and fall application guidance. Staff reported 13 project contracts, with several projects completed or underway and five draft agreements under legal review; four first-round projects still required follow-up for budgets or other documents. The committee discussed procurement and delivery issues, including the Fati Jenkins project, where combining CPA and CDBG funding brings prevailing-wage and sealed-bid requirements, and a City Clerk project whose bid was reportedly about $270,000, substantially above its allocation. Green Hill Park’s proposed dog-waste stations were removed after Parks staff said there was no capacity to maintain them.

The committee voted 6–0, with one abstention, to reduce Veterans Inc.’s award to $249,999 and return $512,464 to the pool for the third funding round, because the organization declined the required permanent historic-preservation restriction. Members also approved the fall application changes 7–0 and approved the annual plan update. The updated guidance addresses preservation funding for religious buildings, possible CPA support for qualifying historic housing, off-cycle applications, property-tax and utility-bill checks, and clearer recovery provisions. Members also discussed requiring applicants for historic restoration to use contractors with relevant experience. No new vendor or construction contract award was made at this meeting.