The Swampscott Community Preservation Committee has received almost two dozen applications for funding this year, looking to preserve atlases, stabilize parks, repair a chapel, and renovate fields.
The Community Preservation Act, approved at Town Meeting in November of 2024, helps preserve open space and historic sites, create affordable housing, and develop recreational facilities.
Since the act was established in town, an open meeting is required each year for the public to get a chance to share suggestions for potential recipients of funding for projects.
Boards and committees in town must submit applications for funding for projects by December. In January, the Community Preservation Committee will vote to recommend certain projects. Their recommendations will be passed along to the Select Board, who will also vote on the potential projects.
Following lengthy discussions, the town submitted an application seeking up to $2.5 million to acquire part of the property at 187 Humphrey St.
The projects submitted so far are:
Swampscott Public Library: Maps Preservation
The library requested $18,390 to restore two deteriorating Swampscott atlases dating to 1880 and 1897.
Town: Phillips Park Basketball Court Rehabilitation
The town requested $53,944 to resurface the basketball court, replace its nets, fencing and benches, and install a water fountain. The project would complement a $68,656 state PARC grant.
Clifton Improvement Association: Beach Bluff Park Stabilization
The association requested $218,860 to reinforce the walkway and stem wall, repoint stonework and repair the beach stairs.
Open Space and Recreation Committee: Swampscott Green Corridor Signage
The committee requested $8,900 for wayfinding signs connecting parks, open spaces and the Rail Trail.
Open Space and Recreation Committee: Kayak Racks for Whales Beach
The committee requested $10,000 to install public kayak racks that the town would maintain.
Open Space and Recreation Committee: Trash and Recycling Bins
The committee requested $7,326 to purchase six steel, dual-compartment receptacles for beaches and Town Hall.
Andrews Chapel Oversight Committee: Maintenance and Repairs
The committee requested $150,000 for repairs to the cemetery chapel. The proposed work would be the first phase of an estimated $800,000 in improvements.
Save the Glover! Inc.: Farmhouse Preservation
The nonprofit requested $350,000 to stabilize the 1740 farmhouse, remove later additions and begin broader renovations.
Swampscott Little League: Field Renovation
The league requested $62,000 for batting cage fencing, ground work and protective netting around the baseball field to shield adjacent wetlands.
Michelle Diab: Children’s Heritage Trail
Diab requested $30,000 for signs, a map and QR-code content covering 12 heritage sites. Children would help select the sites included in the trail.
Senior Center: Outdoor Enhancement
The Senior Center requested $30,000 for design work on an enclosed patio and an accessible bocce court.
Swampscott Church of Spiritualism: Window Reconstruction
The church requested $20,000 to rebuild a deteriorating window well. Its preservation assessment identified more than $200,000 in needed repairs.
Swampscott Historical Society: Window Restoration
The society requested $15,000 to restore six 19th-century windows at the Sir John Humphrey Memorial House.
Speak Up for Animals: Migratory and Local Bird Protections
The organization requested $31,000 to install bird-safe film on the high school’s southeast-facing windows.
Historical Commission: Historic Exedra Restoration
The commission requested $42,000 to restore the concrete exedra at Eisman’s Beach and install an interpretive sign.
Town: Phillips Park PARC Grant Local Match
The town requested $60,000 toward the local match for the state PARC grant supporting the basketball court project.
Town: Town Hall Exterior Restoration
The town requested $150,000 for historic preservation work, including masonry repairs, entryway carpentry, balustrade work and restoration of select windows.
Town: Digitization of Historical Records
The town requested $50,000 to inventory municipal records, compare them with state retention schedules and recommend which records should be retained.
Town: Andrews Chapel Study
The town requested $20,000 for an engineering study to assess the chapel’s long-term preservation needs.
Town: 187 Humphrey St. Acquisition
The town requested up to $2.5 million to acquire part of the property at 187 Humphrey St. for open space.
The Select Board voted 3-2 in its most recent meeting to conditionally support an application for Community Preservation funding to acquire the St. John’s parking lot. The board later discussed the proposed acquisition in executive session.
The property at 187 Humphrey St. is currently used as St. John’s parking lot. The potential acquisition comes amid an ongoing debate among town officials and residents over the property’s future, which dates back to the 2022 Town Meeting vote to acquire the Hawthorne-by-the-Sea property.
The Swampscott Center for the Performing Arts currently operates under a short-term lease.
