Carlisle CPC Holds Line on Post-Tension Courts, Closes Six Grants, Elects New Chair

CARLISLE — May 19, 2026 — Carlisle's Community Preservation Committee held the line on a $497,000 post-tension courts grant, closed six projects, and elected new leadership at its May 19 meeting. The committee unanimously denied a Recreation Commission request to redirect its approved Rideout Park courts renovation grant toward standard asphalt resurfacing or general project costs, insisting the funds remain tied to the post-tension concrete surface — projected to last 30 years — that was the explicit basis of the Town Meeting appropriation. Select Board appointee Jeff Collins noted the application "specifically said this funding was for extending the life of the surface, not the surface itself," while departing member Burton Flint said the commission should return with updated bid figures rather than swap materials. The committee approved extension requests for the Wright Tavern Structural Repairs, Assabet River Pedestrian Bridge, cemetery stone wall and Civil War monument projects, and the Concord Historic Preservation Plan, while tabling a Bruce Freeman Rail Trail extension pending clarification of overlapping grant scopes. Formal closeouts yielded roughly $25,000 in rescinded funds, including $20,000 from the dormant Wheeler Harrington House planning grant and $2,704 from an 11-year-old drinking fountains project. Diane Rocker was unanimously elected incoming chair and Collins was elected vice chair, succeeding Flint and Nancy Nelson, both of whom attended their final meetings.