Shellfish Study, Historic Renovations Among Requests For CPC Funding

     The Falmouth Community Preservation Committee has begun conducting interviews of those seeking funding for the next round of grants. The committee heard last Thursday night from three applicants seeking approximately $100,000 in community preservation funds.
     The largest request was from the Coastal Ponds Management Committee, which is asking for $50,000 to conduct shellfish habitat assessment studies of Bournes Pond and Eel Pond.
     Community preservation funds were used to conduct a shellfish study of Green Pond, which is now complete and is being used to develop a management plan for the waterway, as well as a shellfish study of West Falmouth Harbor, which is underway, said Charles T. McCaffrey Jr., chairman of the coastal ponds committee.
     Some community preservation committee members raised concerns with funding additional projects when the Green Pond management plan is not yet complete, but Mr. McCaffrey and fellow coastal pond committee member Elizabeth H. Gladfelter touted the results of the study so far.
     Mr. McCaffrey said that the study allowed them to identify where the shellfish and eelgrass currently exist, indicating the overall water quality, and also showed where in the waterway is suitable shellfish habitat, which can be used for planning. “We’re trying to anticipate what the pond could be like with nutrient removal and plan accordingly,” he said.
     Because the coastal pond committee is an advisory committee to the board of selectmen, the management plan will be used to develop specific town regulations for Green Pond, including those regarding docks and moorings.
     It can also be used as a reason to change the state-regulated dredging window. That window is currently the same for all Cape waterways, but Mr. McCaffrey said it should be different because each waterway is different, and if the town has better information about those waterways it can petition more effectively to have the window changed.
     Mr. McCaffrey said that the committee is eager to proceed with the studies because spring is the best time to conduct them. “We need to have good management plans for our harbors if we’re going to preserve their values,” he said. “The fact is, we need this natural resources assessment for all these ponds before we can put together management plans.”
     The community preservation committee also heard from Barbara J. Milligan, executive director of Historic Highfield, who is requesting $42,000 toward the restoration of an ice house on the property. Ms. Milligan said that the ice house is the last remaining outbuilding on the town-owned property from the original estate and its restoration is part of the larger landscaping effort.
     The original plan for the building was to make it open to the public, but Ms. Milligan said that it would be very expensive and labor-intensive to bring it up to code from its current “horrific” state. She said that they decided instead to recreate a lighted scene inside, as it would have looked during its use, and have visitors view it through the windows and doors.
     She said that they would retain the character of the property through the restoration and would use as much as possible of the original materials, including a board engraved with the name of the original carpenter and the year 1890. “This is the kind of thing that we do at Highfield,” she said.
     When the town took possession of the property in 2000, Ms. Milligan said, some residents were concerned that it would become a burden to the town budget, so they promised not to use town money to restore the mansion. “We pledged that we would take care of that. And we did,” she said, raising “well over $8 million.”
     “I think that we’re as eligible [for funding] as any other entity,” she said.
     The restoration of the ice house, Ms. Milligan said, would allow them to continue to tell to the public the story of a “community treasure.”
     The smallest request for community preservation funding was from Rene N. Poirier, owner of Mostly Hall, a bed and breakfast on North Main Street near the Falmouth Village Green.
     Mr. Poirier is seeking $7,000 to $10,000 toward the restoration of an original wrought iron fence.
     The house was built in 1849 and is 90 percent original, Mr. Poirier said.
     In response to committee members’ concerns that the home is private and projects funded through the community preservation act must have public benefit, Mr. Poirier said that the Falmouth Historical Society includes the house on its tour route and he allows them access 100 feet onto the front of the property.
     With hundreds of people coming onto the property every year to ask questions about its history, Mr. Poirier said that he and his wife are essentially “ambassadors of Falmouth.”
     Mr. Poirier said that the money would be used to buy the materials for the restoration, but he would do the work himself over two to four months in the off season.
     At its meetings next month, the committee will hear from the four other applicants for this funding round. Those projects include the town band shell, Spohr Gardens, the Coonamessett River Working Group, and the Woods Hole Library.