I have read the Committee's Report and other material on this web site. I conclude that the Grand View Farm certainly should have priority for restoration (an not replication) due to its historical significance. I have the following thoughts:

1. I am sure that a residential and business segment of our Town exists that may be willing to make a multi-year "pledge" to help "sponsor" the restoration. A $50 (or more) per year pledge from residential citizens (or households) could be assumed as reasonable for each of 5 years. If 2000 households were willing to make this pledge, then another $500,000 would be available. If 100 businesses made a pledge of $500 per year for 5 years, another $250,000 would be available. Perhaps a Town-wide pledge drive explaining the historical significance of GVF with a request for a multi-year sponsorship may work?

2. It seems that the Committee did an outstanding job over the last few years. However, it seems that unknown construction issues may have played a role in escalating costs (my interpretation). If a large number of contingencies are seen as needed, then bids often escalate. So, my question is: If the town (the Commission) acted as its own general contractor, perhaps parts of the work could be subcontracted (in more manageable segments) with more details (with the advice of a consultant perhaps), to reduce unknown risks from being aggregated into a large contingency. Small local contractors may be more inclined to bid on this basis?

3. Are there any citizens of the Town, who have construction expertise that could provide input into how to break the sub contracting up into more manageable pieces. Perhaps a property tax abatement could be provided for their services? 4. Is there a potential donor organization that would be willing to match contributions from our citizens (fundraising drive)? Some people are motivated by the notion that their pledge is leveraged in that fashion. The above are simply my random thoughts and I recognize has probably already been considered.

Larry C