The Greenfield Community Preservation Committee (CPC) is seeking public input on 12 projects under review to help determine which will receive funding this year. One of the projects is the First Franklin County Courthouse Rehabilitation, an application submitted by the Connecticut River Conservancy (CRC) as occupants of this historic building at 15 Bank Row in Greenfield. CRC’s staff and water quality monitoring lab are both housed in this building.
The CPC will meet on Thursday, February 27, at 5:30 p.m. at the John Zon Community Center specifically to collect public input on the proposals. The public may also provide feedback at any CPC meeting during the public comment period. In addition, the committee has developed an online survey to gather comments until the end of February, with more information on all applicants here (the survey is not exclusive to Greenfield residents).
The Connecticut River Conservancy’s application is #1 on the survey.
About the Connecticut River Conservancy’s proposal for the First Franklin County Courthouse rehabilitation:
Funds will be used for historic rehabilitation projects in the First Franklin County Courthouse, a historic 1813 building owned and occupied by CRC. The first phase includes important restoration on the building exterior, including: repairing the bell tower; restoring and waterproofing the original granite block entry stairs, repointing of brickwork on the façade and chimney; removal of crawling ivy to protect bricks and mortar, and replacing the wide-plank oak entry thresholds with modern replicas made from locally sourced white oak.
The second phase will fully renovate and daylight a 1,000 square foot room into a modern meeting room and kitchen suitable for public education events and large gatherings. This room has a separate entry and will be made accessible to other community organizations, helping meet the need for affordable indoor meeting spaces for Greenfield residents and groups. Phase 2 includes restoration of seven long-since bricked in windows and one exterior door, providing daylight and access to an outdoor area as an extension of the meeting space.
CRC takes very seriously our role as a steward of this historic property and the significance it holds in the greater community. The goal is to maintain and restore as much of the historic nature of this building as possible while creating a functional and energy efficient office building with a community meeting space that is fully ADA-accessible, affordable, and conveniently located near downtown amenities and parking. We are proud of the role CRC has played in maintaining the prominence of this building in the overall historic downtown, and we look forward to continuing that stewardship for many more years.
“CRC welcomes community support to help preserve this community treasure. Thank you for your input, and please come by to visit soon!” says Rebecca Todd, Executive Director at the Connecticut River Conservancy.
About the Community Preservation Committee Process:
Applications were received for six affordable housing, three historical preservation, and three outdoor recreation projects, totaling $298,523 in requested funding. Over the last few months, the CPC has met with applicants to delve deeper into their proposals. All applications are available for review on the Community Preservation Committee’s page on the city website at https://greenfield-ma.gov/cpcfunding.
This year, the committee has approximately $200,000 to allocate to Community Preservation Act projects. The CPA funds were generated through the City’s participation in a state program that allows a 1 percent surcharge on property taxes to be dedicated to these priorities. A percentage of local revenues are matched by the state each year. Greenfield voters approved the program in November 2020.
Following the public input process, the Community Preservation Committee will meet on March 13 to discuss the community feedback that was received and which projects to recommend to the City Council for funding. All upcoming meetings will have a hybrid format to allow the public to join remotely via Zoom.
The public is also welcome to make their voice heard through a survey established by the CPC. Responses are due on Monday, March 3: http://bit.ly/cpcfy25.
Those interested in learning more about the process are encouraged to attend an upcoming meeting or contact Community Development Assistant Christian LaPlante at 413-772-1548, ext. 4 or cpc@greenfield-ma.gov.
For any questions to the Connecticut River Conservancy about the rehabilitation of the First Franklin County Courthouse Rehabilitation project, contact Sam Stegeman at 413-834-0781 and sstegeman@ctriver.org.