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ARTICLE 8 (f) Project: Battle Green Master Plan Implementation, Phase I CPA Category: Historic Resources Amount Requested: $50,000 Amount Recommended: $50,000 CPC Vote: (8-1) Project Description: This request by the Tourism Committee is for $50,000 for the first phase in a recommended three-year implementation program for improvements proposed in the Battle Green Area Master Plan. Specifically, CPA funds will be used to improve path material and restore edges at the base of several of the monuments in the Battle Green Area, repair damaged fencing surrounding some of the monuments, and, contingent upon Selectmen approval, allow for the restoration of the Hayes Memorial Fountain. This project will be coordinated with the project submitted by the Department of Public Works to restore monuments in the Battle Green Area. Project Goals and Objectives: The 2010 Town Meeting authorized $25,000 of CPA funds to hire a consultant to prepare a Master Plan for the Battle Green Area. Several drafts of the Master Plan were prepared, and a final Plan was conditionally approved, by the Selectmen in March, 2011. The Plan defined the boundaries of the Battle Green Area to include the Battle Green, Belfry Hill, Ye Olde Burying Ground, Buckman Tavern and the Lexington Visitor Center. The Plan made recommendations for site improvements and management of the Battle Green Area, including conserving monuments and statues, and establishing unified design standards for paths, vegetation, benches, trash receptacles, signs, interpretive panels, lighting and other site furnishings. The goal of this request is to begin to address these recommendations. Project Benefit: The Battle Green is a nationally significant landmark which draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to Lexington each year, the fourth most popular tourist destination in Massachusetts after Boston, Cambridge and Salem. The Battle Green is also the Town common for the citizens of Lexington. Improvements proposed for the Battle Green Area will enhance both visitor and citizen appreciation and will encourage proper use of this highly significant area. This first-year funding request is being th submitted so that improvements can be made prior to the commencement of the Town’s 300 anniversary celebration in 2013. Funding Request: The FY 12 funding request for this project is $50,000 which represents a portion of the first phase of Battle Green Area improvements. Subsequent implementing steps will proceed at the discretion of the Selectmen with the help of an advisory committee to be appointed by them. Total cost for the Battle Green Area improvements recommended in the Master Plan is estimated at approximately $921,000. Phase 2, which includes a pedestrian, traffic and parking study and additional path improvements, is estimated at $221,000. Phase 3, which includes implementation of the recommendations of the traffic study, improvement of site furnishings, implementation of planting recommendations and improvement of landscape conditions on Belfry Hill, is estimated at $600,000. Opportunities are available for matching grants for this work through State, Federal and private funding sources. Future requests for CPA funding will be determined as part of a comprehensive funding program which takes these potential sources of revenue into account. 13