2023-01-12-LCC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Pamela Lyons continued on her quest to have a tree and bench removed from the bus stop relocated from 1666 Mass Ave to in front of Conte Bikes. MBTA Guidelines require an unobstructed 4 foot wide landing pad whenever there is a new or relocated bus stop. Pam has alerted DPW to this request and has gone to the Commission on Disability and Tree Committees. This issue is in process. The Center Committee voted nine to zero to support bringing the bus stop into compliance with the MBTA guidelines and suggests moving it to the left so as to be in front of the benches and Enterprise Bank. (Pam agreed to pursue this alternative.) Doug Lucente described meeting with a consultant and the Town Manager to consider a contract for $25K to look at the vitality of the Center. The consultants are two profs (UMass and Michigan) who have a lot of experience in this area. There would be two charrettes and other services. There was some back and forth as to what exactly is the purpose of this contract. “What are we getting for the $10M Streetscape Project?” Doug noted that they are trying to react to requests to do community engagement. Fred supported spending $25K to deal with the perception that the Center is not meeting the needs of some constituencies in Town. Fred noted that there are a lot of reasons to take a fresh look at the Center. E.G. there are larger issues impacting retail commerce. Notwithstanding many looks at the Center in the past, it would be good to pend $25k to take a look and perhaps alter public perception. Jerry noted that it would be helpful to get recommendations. Doug emphasized that the purpose is to get a fresh start. Pam Shadley spelled out the “RFP.” First task is for the consultant to read and summarize all prior reports in advance of the first public meeting. Is there agreement as to the prior recommendations and conclusions? The second public meeting is to create a roadmap with action items. Sandhya concluded “it’s all about the density.” We adjourned at 10:20. We did not take a vote on the December 2022 minutes.