Letters to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Community Preservation In Burlington Worth It

The following is a Letter to the Editor:

There has been so much in the news about “CPA” Community Preservation. Majority already knows what it is and why the State of Massachusetts instituted it in 2002. They knew that towns like ours were underfunded in affordable housing options, open space and recreation, and historical preservation. They already know that CPA funding would enable Town of Burlington to retain the capital assets it now has, along with its low taxes and Class A rating.

I hear some Burlington residents saying “Burlington is not a historical town.” BEFORE OUR TIME, our town allowed a townhouse on one side of the Historical Museum, and a garage on the other side. Thus blocking open space from the museum to the Old Burial Ground and on to the Old Meeting House-UCC Church. In these older years, it shows there was no love of history. Now is our time!

Grandview Farm came close to teardown! West School came close to teardown! Jonathan Simonds House (where a selectman and a Revolutionary War soldier lived) has been torn down recently due to “lack of funds.” A handsome structure, the Union School, important building to the commendable look of our common, an educator to all Burlington children when the four one-room schoolhouses were no longer large enough to service our growing population, is looking at the “heavy hand of destruction.”

Is approximately $78 per year for the CPA surcharge on your annual tax too much to contribute to our town’s open space? Is $78 per year too much for historical preservation? Is $78 per year too much for improving our parks and walking paths? I THINK NOT!

Vote YES on Question 5 to preserve our town’s character and history for our children and grandchildren … the character and history that makes Burlington unique!

VOTE YOUR VALUES!

Mary Nohelty
YES CPA Burlington Committee Member