Fellow blogger, Bellicose Bumpkin has done a lot of research and posted at length about the Community Preservation Act because it does seem to be an opportunity missed by Middleboro.

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Reviewing The Division of Local Services October/November issue of City and Town the following comment was striking --

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On October 15, 2008, 127 communities received a total of $54,614,430 in
Community Preservation Act (CPA) state matching funds. Since 2002, CPA
has served as a valuable tool for cities and towns in their efforts to protect
open space, preserve historic resources, provide affordable housing
and create recreational opportunities. Indicative of the program’s success is
that to date over $626.6 million has been raised in total state and local CPA
funds ....

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For a nominal annual contribution that is determined by voters, it does seem that the Town could have used the funding for its recent purchases instead of bonding.

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THE FOLLOWING CORRECTION WAS RECEIVED:
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The Division of Local Services has corrected and reposted the October/November issue of City and Town. We apologize for any confusion created by a publishing error that rearranged data for our cover feature on the Community Preservation Act.

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Click on or copy and paste the following link to your Internet browser:http://www.mass.gov/Ador/docs/dls/publ/ct/2008/oct_nov08.pdf