NAHANT — As the town expects to receive $550,000 in state-matched Community Preservation Act funding for open space, affordable housing, or historic preservation projects, the Community Preservation Committee held a public meeting Monday evening to outline the application process for the CPA grant funds.

Under the Commonwealth’s Community Preservation Act, the town’s 3% property tax surcharge is matched annually with state funding to fund open space, historic preservation, affordable housing, or recreational land use projects. The CPC proposes potential uses for CPA revenue each year, which are put to an annual vote at Town Meeting.

Town entities or organizations with a CPA-eligible project have until Jan. 16 to apply for grant funding. Kicking off the meeting, CPC Chair Lynne Spencer announced that this year, town boards and committees, organizations, and possibly even private stakeholders will be able to file their applications online.

“We are anxiously encouraging applications,” Spencer said. “We review the applications, we evaluate them, we spend time with our applicants, and then it goes on to FinCom (The Financial Committee) for their review and, ultimately, to Town Meeting.”

When Spencer opened the meeting for questions, Library Director Nori Morganstein asked whether Nahant Public Library could qualify for a CPC grant to install an HVAC system in the library to protect historical books and artifacts from climate-related damage.

“In the library is really beautiful, amazing historical material that’s stored in an attic. I’m really worried that at some point, a storm or something’s going to happen, or the humidity is going to destroy it,” Morganstein said.

In response, Spencer told Morganstein that the CPC can not legally fund any project that is considered regular maintenance, such as an HVAC system. She recommended that Morganstein package the HVAC system alongside some of the ongoing, previously-funded historical preservation projects at the library.

Open Space and Recreation Committee Chair Trish Aldrich told the committee that she planned to apply for funding to restore a portion of Bailey’s Hill Park by hiring an ecological restoration professional.

“We imagine it would include removing some of the invasive tree species — the black locusts, the Norway maples, and some dead trees — probably removing vines that are suffocating a lot of the plant life and planting some native trees and shrubs,” Aldrich said.

In response, Spencer encouraged Aldrich to undergo a “public education process” alongside the grant application to ensure residents understand the ecological issues that are present at the park.

Affordable Housing Production Plan Advisory Sub-Committee Chair Michelle Capano proposed a plan to create a Housing Trust with CPA funds to put money aside for the Town’s Housing Production Plan — the town’s plan to create affordable and multi-family housing per mandatory state law.

Spencer noted that of the roughly $550,000 in CPA funds expected to reach Nahant, only a 10% minimum must be allocated toward affordable housing. Noting the importance of the Housing Production Plan and the town’s historical lack of CPA funding for affordable housing, Spencer reminded Capano that Nahant had $175,000 in a CPA reserve fund, which could potentially be used for housing.

“Overall, if I think about the priorities that this committee has been dealing with over the years, affordable housing has been the least served of the three categories. Open space, historic preservation, they have gotten sizable grants over time,” Spencer said. “The idea of creating new housing opportunities is extremely exciting. It’s something that we as a group would encourage creative applications for.”

Before voting to adjourn, Spencer said that the committee would likely meet with applicants again before the Jan. 16 deadline to discuss grant applications further.