[Fomp] FOMP Call to action on Wednesday, January 10

[Barry Herring]

Dear Friends of Morses Pond:

The Community Preservation Committee (CPC) will be hearing public 
comment at 7:30 pm on Wednesday January 10 on a proposal to use 
Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds for Morses Pond preservation.  I 
encourage any interested party to attend.  Public speaking is optional.  
Here is some background on the proposal before CPC:

In 2005 the Morses Pond Ad Hoc Committee finalized a $2.1 million 5-year 
plan for restoration and preservation of Morses Pond.  At the 2006 town 
meeting, the members voted FY2007 funding of $250,000 from CPA for a new 
weed harvester, and about $75,000 from general revenues for operation of 
the harvester and other Morses Pond needs.  The remainder of the Morses 
Pond Comprehensive Plan remains unfunded.  The Natural Resources 
Commission (NRC) will be making various proposals at the upcoming town 
meeting to further fund the Plan.  One of those proposals is to use CPA 
funds for the Alum Dosing Station at an estimated construction cost of 
$133,000.  Before going to town meeting, CPA proposals must first be 
approved by the CPC, for which the Jan. 10 hearing is the next step.

It's worth noting that the bid process for the new harvester is 
complete, and the winning bid came in at $184,110, nearly $66,000 under 
the original estimate.  Although NRC can't keep those savings, the money 
does go back into the CPA fund for other projects and would represent 
almost half of the new request by NRC.

Please come to the meeting and stand up for Morses Pond.  You are also 
invited to attend the FOMP executive committee meeting the night before 
(Jan. 9) at 7:30 pm in the Arnold room of the main library, where we'll 
discuss the Jan. 10 hearing, among other subjects.

Barry Herring
FOMP Chairman