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Minutes of the Executive Session of The Community Preservation Committee Thursday, March 11, 2010 Room 207, Town Office Building 1625 Massachusetts Avenue 2:30 pm Present: Committee Members: Betsey Weiss, Chair; Joel Adler, Norman Cohen, Marilyn Fenollosa, Vice Chair; Jeanne Krieger, Leo McSweeney and Dick Wolk. Administrative Asst: Nathalie Rice At 2:30 pm, upon a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted by a roll call to enter into Executive Session under Exemption 6 to consider the purchase, exchange, lease or value of real property and to reconvene in Open Session; the Chair declaring that an Open Meeting might have a detrimental effect on the negotiating position of the Town. 1.Cotton Farm Land Acquisition – Mr. Cohen updated the Committee on the status of the negotiations for the Cataldo property (Cotton Farm). He stated that the appraised value for the 4.21 acres of land at 121 Marrett Road was $4,400,000 predicated on a 9-lot subdivision. The terms of the agreement for the proposed acquisition were the following: a. a purchase price of $4.0 million dollars, b. a deed restriction on approximately 2.5 acres bordering Marrett Road, such land to be mowed no more than four times a year, c. the existing driveway through what would be Town land, to be relocated when the Robert Cataldo family was no longer in residence in the existing house, d. a gift of the Hartwell Avenue parcel of 14.5 acres to the Town, e. a $200,000 gift to be made to the Town for a Cataldo Nature Trust Fund dedicated to the maintenance of the land, and f. the remainder of the property to be limited to four residential lots, two of which could be developed immediately, and two to be built when the existing home is torn down. The CPC discussed the pros and cons of the acquisition. Mr. Adler noted that the assessed value of the land was $1,268,000 (for a 6.33 acre parcel of Cataldo land) and that the land portion was assessed at $495,000. Mr. Wolk pointed out that assessed values cannot be used to judge the market value of a property, especially those that have remained in a family for some time. Ms. Fenollosa raised the issue of past appraisals, noting that the last appraisal in March of 1