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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-12-06-CPC-min Minutes of the Community Preservation Committee Thursday, December 6, 2012, 2:30 pm Parker Room Town Offices Building Present: Board Members: Wendy Manz,Chair; Joel Adler, Norman Cohen, Marilyn Fenollosa, Vice Chair; Jeanne Krieger, Leo McSweeney, Sandra Shaw and Dick Wolk. Administrative Assistant : Nathalie Rice Also in attendance were David Kanter of the Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) and Town resident, Robert Pressman. The meeting was called to order at 2:41 pm. by Ms. Manz. 1.Approval of the Minutes – A vote was taken (7-0) to approve theminutes from the th meeting of November 29, 2012 as amended by Ms. Shaw. (Mr. McSweeney was not yet in attendance.) 2.Cary Hall Memorial Building Upgrades, $550,000 – Patrick Goddard, Director of Facilities, and Fred Johnson, Chair of the Ad hoc Cary Memorial Building Program Committee, met with the CPC to present amendments to the application for Upgrades to the Cary Memorial Building. Mr. Goddard noted that the revisions to the CPA application had not yet received Board of Selectmen approval, nor had they been presented at a public meeting, but due to the CPC meeting schedule, he felt it would be prudent to meet with the CPC in a timely manner. Mr. Goddard presented a revised “Preliminary Estimate of Project Costs”, and noted that the changes in the budget were due to increases in “Contractor Overhead & Profit” and “Escalation Allowance”. Mr. Goddard said these changes were for construction planned for FY15, but had ramifications for the Design and Development funds requested for FY14. The initial request for FY14 funding was for $500,000, which had been amended to $550,000. Mr. Goddard explained that certain items in the construction budget had been eliminated from the list of upgrades after Ad hoc Committee review. These included acoustic shells, certain stage upgrades, access to an unused entrance behind the stage, and ADA access to the Civil Room, for which they would seek a variance. Items added in the process of the Committee’s review primarily included audiovisual work in the hall and in the meeting rooms. Mr. Johnson noted that the upgrades had been methodically reviewed by the Ad hoc Committee, and by project architects and consultants. In response to a question from Mr. McSweeney, Mr. Goddard said that approximately $135,000 of CPA funds had been spent to date on various repairs for the Cary Memorial Building. Mr. Adler questioned whether any such repairs would need to be improved upon, to which Mr. Goddard said they would. Mr. Goddard specifically noted that the thermostatic control for the hall and meeting rooms would need replacement, but said there was no other alternative for a building built in 1929. He said past work had been a “band aid” approach, while the current project would permanently remedy heating and cooling problems. Ms. Manz questioned Mr. Goddard about the possibility of phasing the work, to which Mr. Goddard replied that it was not feasible as it would increase cost and put the hall out 1 of use for a longer period. There will be a meeting of the Ad hoc Cary Hall Building th Program Committee on December 12 in the Ellen Stone Room at 7:30 pm where the findings of the Committee will be presented to the public. 3.Discussion of Project Applications and Straw Votes a.)Merriam Hill Preservation, $3,000, no vote – The CPC discussed this application at length, with some members expressing concern about houses being added to the Comprehensive Cultural Resources Inventory (the Inventory) without homeowners being aware of the commencement of the project. Ms. Fenollosa agreed that if approved, all affected homeowners would be notified. She also noted that the project provided an opportunity to add to the body of research concerning significant homes in Lexington, and should not be taken as a referendum on the Demolition Delay Bylaw. There was also concern on the part of some members about the application being presented by a neighborhood rather than by the Historical Commission (HC). After further consideration of the project, Mr. Wolk made a motion to have the CPC reconsider the application under submission by the Historical Commission. The motion was approved unanimously (8-0). Ms. Fenollosa will inform the HC of this change. b.)Moon Hill National Register Nomination, $6,000, no vote – There was also discussion of this application, a continuation of the MidCentury Modern Architecture in Lexington project begun with the National Register Nomination of the Peacock Farm Historic District funded with CPA monies in FY 2011. Members again felt the application would be best submitted by the Historical Commission, and voted (7-0-1) to reconsider the application under HC submission. Ms. Fenollosa will inform the HC of this change. c.)Archives and Records Management and Preservation, $20,000, (6-0-1) – A question arose regarding the eventual date at which CPC funds would no longer be appropriate for the archiving of Town records, as they would be contemporary rather than historic. Ms. Hooper stated that at some time in the future, funds for document preservation would probably move into her operating budget. The CPC asked Ms. Rice to follow-up with Ms. Hooper to determine the dates and periods of documents to be preserved using this year’s requested funds and the phasing of future conservation projects into the operating budget. The CPC voted (6-0-1) in a straw vote to approve this project application. d.)5-Year Open Space Plan Update, $30,000, (8-0) – Periodic update of this Plan is required by statute. The Committee discussed the Open Space Plan Update, noting Town Counsel’s recommendation to use funds from the Administrative budget for the project. The CPC took a straw voted and voted (8-0) to support the project using funds from the Administrative budget. e.)Conservation Restriction (CR) Enforcement Funds, $25,000, (7-0-1) – The CPC questioned whether there were remaining funds in any of the previous land acquisition budgets which could be used to funds the necessary CRs. (There are monies available to fund the Wright Farm CR in this manner.) Ms. Rice will investigate this matter further and speak with Ms. Mullins, the Director of 2 Community Development. The CPC voted support for this project (7-0-1) in a straw vote. f.)Cary Memorial Building Upgrades (Design and Development), $550,000, (8- 0) – The Committee voted its support of this phase of the project in a straw vote of (8-0). g.)Park and Playground Improvements, $147,500, (8-0) – This project application was approved in a straw vote by the CPC (8-0). h.)Park Improvements, Athletic Fields, $65,000, (8-0) – The Committee approved this project application in a straw vote of (8-0). i.)Lincoln Park Field Improvements, $150,000, and (8-0) – The CPC voted its support of this project in a straw vote of (8-0). 4.Updates and Member Concerns a.)Community Preservation Coalition Workshop, Dec. 1st - Ms. Manz reported on the proceedings of the Community Preservation Coalition Workshop held in st Chelmsford on December 1. Member Sandy Shaw also attended as well as David Kanter of the CEC and Town resident Bob Pressman. Attendees each gave a brief update. b.)Wright Farm – Ms. Manz noted that Ms. Mullins, Director of Community Development, reported that the Town will not receive $400,000 in Local Acquisition for Natural Diversity (LAND) grant funds as hoped. This made it unnecessary to prepare a CR for the Wright Farm by the grant deadline, making the preparation of the Conservation Restriction using CPC administrative funds unnecessary. Ms. Mullins will prepare the CR for the Wright Farm and for the other five properties using either available funds in existing accounts or through her request for FY14 CPA funding. 5. Future Meetings – Ms. Manz noted that the CPC will meet on December 13th, th 2012, in the Parker Room at 2:00 pm, and on the 19 for the Public Hearing for the Needs Assessment Report (in the Parker Room at 7:00 pm). The meeting was adjourned at 5:02 pm. The following documents were presented at the meeting: 1.Cary Memorial Building Evaluation. Preliminary Estimate of Project Costs, Mills Whitaker Architects, November 29, 2012. Respectfully submitted, Nathalie Rice Administrative Assistant Community Preservation Committee 3