The Plymouth Community Preservation Committee convened at Town Hall on November 6, 2025, to confront a looming financial challenge: a projected $558,000 in annual interest costs. Director of Finance Lyn Brett presented a detailed breakdown of the town’s community preservation fund, revealing that while $4.5 million in revenue is anticipated for fiscal year 2027, the town faces an $11.1 million obligation for ongoing projects. Brett urged the committee to consider using its set-aside reserves to pay down short-term debt, specifically for housing and open space initiatives. The amount of revenues available for the set-asides and the budgeted reserve... you can use that for any projects, pay down debt, whatever you want, Brett explained, noting that the Plymouth Coalition for the Homeless project is nearing completion and will require $1.6 million in final borrowing.

The prospect of mounting debt service sparked a candid discussion among committee members regarding the long-term sustainability of the fund. Bill Keohan expressed deep concern about the cycle of borrowing for high-cost projects, stating, Somehow we have to get out of this cycle. We have to get off this treadmill. Paul Churchill sought clarity on the nature of the town's financial obligations, asking, Just for clarification, we have no long-term debt borrowing? Edward Bradley noted that the committee would need to finalize its debt-reduction strategy by the December 11 voting meeting. One committee member questioned the feasibility of future initiatives, asking, Can we still use that to pay down the debt from the past? Karen Buechs defended the committee's recent track record, remarking, I think last year we tried to limit as much as we could and do some real good projects that really needed to be done.

In addition to financial planning, the committee reviewed a new $85,000 application for a town-wide historic preservation plan. Historic Resources Coordinator Connor Anderson explained that the current master plan is over two decades old and lacks depth. This is solely focused on historic preservation... this would be your road map going for the next 10, 15 years, Anderson said, adding that the town's status as a certified local government makes it eligible for a 50% reimbursable state grant. Another committee member, reviewing the 300-page benchmark set by other towns, asked, So you're going to know line by line? while discussing the level of detail required for the survey.

The committee also heard a proposal from the Plymouth Public Library to digitize 300 rolls of microfilm covering the full run of the Old Colony Memorial newspaper since 1822. Archive Specialist Julie Burray requested $60,000 to eliminate a four-month waitlist for research requests, explaining that anything prior to 1930, people can go to that history archives website from anywhere in the world and access anything. Mike Tubin expressed surprise at the current lack of digital access, noting he was surprised this wasn't done before. The project would provide free, searchable records to the public without paywalls. Meanwhile, Len Levin provided a brief update on local historical assets, mentioning, I actually we ran into them over there too. They had a meeting at Pilgrim Hall and then they walked over. The committee concluded with staff updates on the coalition housing project, which is currently at 95% completion for landscaping and awaiting a final certificate of occupancy.

Motion Made by a committee member to accept today's agenda Motion Passed 7-0

Motion Made by Len Levin to accept the minutes from October 23rd, 2025 Motion Passed 7-0