A silence fell over the Donn B. Griffin Room on Thursday evening as the Harwich Community Preservation Committee (CPC) declined to even bring a $1 million funding request for the Cape Cod Regional Technical High School to a vote. The decision followed a wave of public opposition centered on the environmental impact of the proposed Main Street project, which critics argued would disrupt sensitive land near the Herring River and Flax Pond.

During the public comment session, resident Matt Sutphin expressed disbelief at the scope of the development, which he characterized as the equivalent of thirty houses worth of construction. I believe very few people who voted for Article 60 had any idea what was going to happen, Sutphin said. They could not have envisioned an $8 million construction project with $2 million worth of ground disruption. I'm not against education, but it's a cost-benefit thing... I am certainly against classrooms being built at the edge of Flax Pond. Another resident, identified as John, questioned why the project was categorized as recreation and noted that other towns in the consortium had not been similarly tapped for funds. When the item eventually reached the floor, Chair David Maslowski asked, Cape Cod Tech Main Street Project, R6. Is there a motion? After several seconds of silence from the six members present, D. Maslowski noted the lack of action and moved to the next agenda item. Motion Failed for lack of motion.

The committee was more decisive regarding the Harwich Affordable Housing Trust, though it opted to scale back the requested funding. Originally seeking $750,000, the Trust saw its allocation reduced to $500,000 following concerns from member Kathy Green regarding a new rental assistance initiative. For me, the rental housing assistance program needs to be proven a little bit more, Green explained. I don't want to tie up all that money for something that's not going to really do what it's supposed to do; it may take four or five years before that program really can take off. Motion Made by K. Green to approve $500,000 from the FY 2024 community housing certified balance to fund the Harwich Affordable Housing Trust. Motion Passed (6-0-0). Member Marcy Segerson seconded the motion after the board reached a consensus on the lower figure.

Earlier in the meeting, Bob Samlock, Vice President of the board for Forward, attended to support a $120,000 request for the Forward at the Rock housing project. I just didn't know if questions were allowed; I wanted to know someone from Forward was here, Samlock noted during public comment. The committee ultimately moved the funding forward without debate. Motion Made by M. Maslowski to approve $120,000 from FY 2024 community housing certified balance to fund the Forward at the Rock project. Motion Passed (6-0-0).

A lengthy discussion took place over a $100,000 request for a shade structure at Veterans Field. Several members expressed hesitation regarding the high cost and the lack of a permanent concrete foundation in the current plan. I still think it's a lot to spend on the shade structure, remarked Mary Maslowski. Emily Milan echoed these concerns, stating, I really support the idea, but I'm not as comfortable with the execution. We asked for more pictures and info on the platform... I'm not necessarily comfortable with the execution. Despite the lack of a concrete pad, Robert MacCready suggested deferring to the expertise of the Recreation Director. I have to criticize this because it's not complete, but I'm going to put faith in Eric on this one, MacCready said. K. Green admitted she was on the fence but ultimately joined the unanimous vote after D. Maslowski noted the request had already been reduced by $10,000. Motion Made by M. Maslowski to approve $100,000 from the FY 2024 undesignated fund certified balance to fund the Veterans Field shade project. Motion Passed (6-0-0).

The committee also navigated a technical funding question regarding the $168,000 Herring River Boardwalk design and permitting project. While the Conservation Commission suggested using open space funds, the board opted to stick with undesignated recreation funds to avoid delays. Being this late in the game, it's safer and frankly doesn't make sense to do the extra deep dive to figure out if we can use open space when we know we can use the undesignated fund, M. Maslowski said. Motion Made by M. Maslowski to approve $168,000 from the FY 2024 undesignated fund certified balance to fund the Herring River Boardwalk project. Motion Passed (6-0-0).

Financial planning for the upcoming fiscal year took center stage as the committee processed several housekeeping measures. M. Maslowski presented certified balances from the town auditor, including $1.86 million in undesignated funds and approximately $2.7 million in anticipated revenue for FY26. To ensure compliance with state law, the committee moved to allocate 10% of those anticipated revenues—$270,000 each—to the mandatory reserves for Open Space, Historic Preservation, and Community Housing. Motion Made by M. Maslowski to appropriate and allocate $270,000 for Open Space Reserve, $270,000 for Historic Preservation Reserve, and $270,000 for Community Housing Reserve from FY 2026 estimated annual revenues. Motion Passed (6-0-0). Additionally, the board voted to true-up prior year balances, moving $350,581.51 into each of the three reserve buckets to reflect revenues from 2021 through 2024. Motion Made by M. Maslowski to approve and allocate $350,581.51 each to Open Space, Historic Preservation, and Community Housing reserves from the FY 2024 certified undesignated fund balance. Motion Passed (6-0-0).

Other approved projects included $500,000 for the Cape Cod Rail Trail, $143,000 for the Brooks Park infield replacement, $37,500 for North Harwich gravestone preservation, $33,000 for a restroom at Sand Pond, and $10,000 for the Lower Cape Housing Institute. The committee also moved to rescind $37,000 in unused funds from a 2024 article intended for irrigation at the Veterans Memorial complex. Motion Made by M. Maslowski to rescind $37,000 from 2024 ATM Article 36 and return the funds to the CPC account. Motion Passed (6-0-0).