2012-04-20-CPC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Therefore, a motion was made to acquire the Wright Farm (the land exclusive of the house lot) for conservation purposes. This vote was (6-2-1) with Ms. Shaw abstaining. Mr. Manz, of the Board of Selectmen, stated at this point in the meeting that he fully understood the need for affordable housing in Lexington. Ms.Weiss left the meeting at this point. The discussion then turned to financing options for the acquisition. Ms. Manz suggested $500,000 (the amount the Town received in State Land Grant funds for Cotton Farm) be used "up -front" to reduce the issuance of debt. Members agreed that this amount seemed reasonable. Ms. Manz also said she favored the use of the 10% open space allocation to help defray the debt service. There was a motion to purchase the property with the expenditure of $500,000 in up -front monies from the CPF. This vote passed (7-0-1), with Ms. Shaw abstaining. The CPC then commenced a discussion of the annual amounts that would be needed for bond payments. Mr. Addelson interjected at this point, stating that the exact bond payments would be calculated as the bond was prepared for issuance. He assured them there would be communication with the CPC as he prepared the bond issuance. Ms. Manz then turned the discussion to the costs submitted by Ms. Mullins for the due diligence phase of the acquisition. These include a $1,400 bill from the Foster Company, a $1,200 bill from Avery Associates, and a $1,500 bill from Meridian Associates, the engineering firm which had prepared the plans and had staked the outparcel (the house lot) at the Wright Farm. (Mr. Manz pointed out here that there were stakes with a white cap delineating the parcel to be retained by the Wright family, but that they were difficult to discern from the road. They will be flagged by the Conservation Department to make them more visible.) After a motion to approve the due diligence costs, the CPC voted (8-0) in favor. Ms. Rice noted that the acquisition would be accompanied by the customary master plan, survey, legal and 2 1 E assessment costs. There was some discussion of the amounts of these variables, and the CPC voted (8-0) to approve inclusion of these ancillary costs in the payment for the Wright Farm parcel. 2. Town Meeting Wrap-up — Ms. Manz briefly discussed the CPC Annual Town Meeting presentation on April 4th, and elicited comments from the Committee. Members generally felt the CPC presentation and applicant presentations had gone very well. Mr. Cohen noted however, that in future years the applicants should be kept to their three-minute limit particularly on multi-year projects. Ms. Manz noted that the Wright Farm acquisition would probably come before Town Meeting on April 30th and that the CPC would prepare a report for distribution at the 9