2010-04-12-CPC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Minutes of the Community Preservation Committee Monday, April 12, 2010 Room 207, Town Offices Building 3:00 pm Present: Betsey Weiss, Chair; Joel Adler, Norman Cohen, Marilyn Fenollosa, Vice Chair; Jeanne Krieger, Wendy Manz, Leo McSweeney, Nathalie Rice, Admin. Asst., Sandy Shaw, and Dick Wolk. Selectmen Deb Mauger and Peter Kelley, and Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) members, Ted Edson, David Kanter and Shirley Stolz were in attendance. Karen Simmons, Director of Community Development, Aaron Henry of the Planning Department, Todd Cataldo (owner of the Cotton Farm property) and his counsel, Bill Dailey, were also present. Ms. Weiss called the meeting to order at 3:08 pm. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the Cotton Farm Land Acquisition (Article 9) and to discuss the Town Office Renovation Project (Article 8 [l]). 1.Discussion of the Cotton Farm Land Acquisition - Article 9 - Ms. Weiss opened the meeting with a discussion of a letter from an abutter to the Cataldo parcel, Nicholas and Beatrice Pappas. The Pappases wrote the CPC and the Planning Board offering their house for sale to the Town. The CPC discussed the letter and suggested that Ms. Rice write the Pappases explaining the process of applying for CPC funding, and stating that the Committee was not interested in the parcel at this time. Ms. Weiss then opened discussion on the Cotton Farm land acquisition, sharing a chart with the Committee which listed the four appraisals for the Cataldo property and their associated values and price per acre. The price per acre ranged from $570,312 in March of 2008 to $880,952 in the most recent appraisal dated April 5, 2010. Committee members discussed the variations in the appraisals, and questioned whether the CPC could recommend an appropriation for more than the appraised price. The most recent appraisal, requested by the CPC valued the parcel at $3.7 million dollars, $100,000 lower than the negotiated price. Selectman Peter Kelley noted that he had been told by Town Counsel, that the variation in appraisals would not be a problem. Various members commented on the importance of acquiring the parcel for its open space and historic values, while others were concerned with the high price per acre. Ms. Manz questioned whether there was any room for further negotiation to bring the purchase price down. Ms. Shaw added that the proposal must be evaluated in light of the other projects presently before the CPC, as well as those anticipated in the future. 1