Public funding for a project to repaint and restore the Old Whaling Church in Edgartown is on hold after the discovery that a work estimate from the Vineyard Trust had been altered.
It is a violation of the Massachusetts Ethics Law for a member of a town community preservation committee who also sits on a private nonprofit board to participate in a decision that grants Community Preservation Act funds to the nonprofit.
This is the opinion of Edgartown town counsel Ronald H. Rappaport, who was recently asked by the town administrator to research the question.
In just over seven years, funds generated through the Massachusetts Community Preservation Act on the Vineyard have been used for a wide variety of projects — including the renovation of historic lighthouses and bandstands, the creation of affordable housing and the renovation and improvement of public parks.
As community preservation committees across the Island prepare their recommendations for the coming fiscal year, they report growing interest by Vineyarders in the possibilities offered by Community Preservation Act funding.
More than $3 million in requests are under consideration by preservation committees on the Island.
Town officials who oversee CPA funds have seen a surge in activity and applications.
The Oak Bluffs Community Preservation Committee (CPC) is pleased to announce that application forms are now available to request funding for projects for historic preservation, affordable housing and open space/recreation for the fiscal year that begins in July 2008.
Requests for proposals are being accepted through Oct. 5, 2007.
