Weston CPC Advances Clock Repair and Cricket Pitch Proposals to Public Hearing

WESTON — September 16, 2024 — Weston's Community Preservation Committee heard two new funding requests at its September 16 fall kickoff meeting, advancing both to a future public hearing. Nancy Piedra, facilities committee chair at First Parish Church, asked for $84,500 to restore three deteriorating clock tower faces using Blackburn Building Conservation, the same firm that worked on a clock in Sudbury; the church projects a $63,000 operating loss in 2024 and cited an 1875 town report suggesting the town itself is responsible for clock maintenance. A second proposal from residents Sishadri, Gagan Joshi, and Rahul Khanna sought CPC funding for a permanent cricket pitch at Cherrybrook Field, but was restructured to $16,000 after the committee chair noted a 2012 ruling bars CPC money from AstroTurf installation; applicants said they would privately cover the roughly $5,000 surface cost. The Recreation Committee approved the cricket project in March, and applicants reported paying $4,000 per year to use the existing gravel pitch. No votes on the proposals were taken; the committee asked that a recreation department representative attend the next presentation.