Preservation Panel Votes to Return $10,000 in Grants

Community Preservation Committee · Meeting of September 24, 2026

Shutesbury's Community Preservation Committee voted to return $10,000 in unused grant funds to the town's Open Space Recreation account. Four of seven members, a member, Rita Farrell, Tom Siefert and Elaine Puleo, attended and approved a draft warrant article 4-0 recapturing money originally set aside for a parking area at the West Quabbin Woodlands Conservation Area, since the Highway Department built it in-house at no cost, a member said. The warrant article heads to a Special Town Meeting in October.

The committee also flagged an unresolved $1,000 non-Community-Preservation-Act balance tied to a completed West Cemetery hearse house project, with a member saying "I'm not able to determine where that money came from." The committee's annual public hearing on updating its preservation plan drew no public comment and lasted about a minute. A full plan vote and new grant deadlines are set for Oct. 15.

In the full story:

• Call to Order and Attendance
• Annual Public Hearing on the Community Preservation Plan
• Plan Update Process and Application Deadlines
• Status of Outstanding Community Preservation Act Grants
• Approval of the August 20 Minutes
• West Quabbin Woodlands Conservation Area Grant: Returning $10,000
• Unanticipated Business and Adjournment
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,044 words

Source: the Community Preservation Committee meeting of September 24, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.