2008-11-10-CPC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

Community Preservation Committee Legion Room Wednesday, November 10, 2008 4:00 pm Present: Betsey Weiss, Chair; Marilyn Fenollosa, Vice Chair; Joel Adler, Jeanne Krieger, Wendy Manz, Leo McSweeney, Nathalie Rice, (Admin. Asst.); Sandy Shaw, Dick Wolk. David Kanter, CEC Liaison was also present. Absent: Norman Cohen. The meeting was called to order at 4:03 pm. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss an increase in the planning budget for the Goodwin parcels, possible reductions in costs associated with the Harrington Playground project, and policy changes for Fall Town Meeting projects. 1. Increased Conservation Request for Goodwin Parcels Dick Wolk spoke to this matter, explaining that the total for the legal, survey and appraisal work was estimated at $46,100. This was significantly higher than had been anticipated, particularly the survey costs. He said the deeds for the parcels were quite vague, and that Town Counsel recommended that a survey be done to protect the Town interests. Town Counsel’s initial research showed that there had been no title or deed research done for the parcels in recent history. The Committee discussed the increased fees, and noted that the increase was almost a third of the cost of the parcels themselves, which seemed quite out of scale. There was also discussion about the fact that the parcels were primarily surrounded by Town land, such as the Composting Facility, and the Pine Meadows golf course. Sandy Shaw expressed her concern about the need for the survey and Marlilyn Fenollosa questioned whether the Commission could split the costs of the survey with the landowner. In this case, Jeanne Krieger replied, that would not be possible. A suggestion was made to seek another bid from a second survey company. There was general frustration with the change in costs so late in the CPC review process. The Committee voted 5 to 2 to approve an increase of $46,100 for legal, appraisal and survey costs for the purchase of the Goodwin parcels. Joel Adler and Marilyn Fenollosa were the opposing votes. The increase in the request brings the total for the purchase of the Goodwin parcels to $186,100. 2. Harrington Playground – Supplemental Request The Committee discussed the supplemental funding request of $35,135 for completion of the Harrington Playground in its new location. There was some discussion of the contingency fee for the project. David Kanter informed the Committee that CEC had last minute numbers for the project, which showed a possible cost saving of several thousand dollars. The members agreed that they would rather fund the project at its requested