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Minutes of the Executive Session of
The Community Preservation Committee
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Room 207, Town Office Building
1625 Massachusetts Avenue
2:30 pm
Present:
Committee Members:
Betsey Weiss, Chair; Joel Adler, Norman Cohen, Marilyn
Fenollosa, Vice Chair; Jeanne Krieger, Leo McSweeney and Dick Wolk.
Administrative Asst:
Nathalie Rice
At 2:30 pm, upon a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted by a roll call to enter into
Executive Session under Exemption 6 to consider the purchase, exchange, lease or value of
real property and to reconvene in Open Session; the Chair declaring that an Open Meeting
might have a detrimental effect on the negotiating position of the Town.
1.Cotton Farm Land Acquisition –
Mr. Cohen updated the Committee on the
status of the negotiations for the Cataldo property (Cotton Farm). He stated that
the appraised value for the 4.21 acres of land at 121 Marrett Road was $4,400,000
predicated on a 9-lot subdivision. The terms of the agreement for the proposed
acquisition were the following:
a.
a purchase price of $4.0 million dollars,
b.
a deed restriction on approximately 2.5 acres bordering Marrett Road,
such land to be mowed no more than four times a year,
c.
the existing driveway through what would be Town land, to be relocated
when the Robert Cataldo family was no longer in residence in the existing
house,
d.
a gift of the Hartwell Avenue parcel of 14.5 acres to the Town,
e.
a $200,000 gift to be made to the Town for a Cataldo Nature Trust Fund
dedicated to the maintenance of the land, and
f.
the remainder of the property to be limited to four residential lots, two of
which could be developed immediately, and two to be built when the
existing home is torn down.
The CPC discussed the pros and cons of the acquisition. Mr. Adler noted that
the assessed value of the land was $1,268,000 (for a 6.33 acre parcel of Cataldo
land) and that the land portion was assessed at $495,000. Mr. Wolk pointed out
that assessed values cannot be used to judge the market value of a property,
especially those that have remained in a family for some time. Ms. Fenollosa
raised the issue of past appraisals, noting that the last appraisal in March of
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2008, was $1,825,000 for 3.2 acres. The Busa parcel, she noted was 7.93 acres
(14 lots) for $4.1 million. She said she felt the Cataldo property would be a hard
sell at nearly a million dollars an acre. Ms. Fenollosa suggested asking the
appraiser from 2008 to do an updated appraisal.
A straw vote was taken at this point in the discussion on the acquisition as
detailed by Mr. Cohen, passing 4-3, with two members absent.
Members continued their discussion, and focused on the difference in the
appraised value of the land over a two year period. It was asked whether the
acquisition could go to a referendum, to which Ms. Krieger responded that it
would be a highly undesirable alternative. Mr. Wolk summarized the values of
the parcel reiterating the aspects of the acquisition that were beneficial to the
Town, such as the Harwell land, valued at approximately $100,000 and the
$200,000 gift for land management.
In light of the concern over the $4.4 million dollar appraised value, the CPC
voted to conduct a second appraisal on the Cataldo property. Ms. Rice will
contact Ms. Mullins to arrange for a second appraisal with Mr. Valente’s
approval.
After a duly conducted roll call vote, the Executive Session was closed at 3:02
pm and the Committee returned to Open Session.
Respectfully submitted,
Nathalie Rice
Administrative Assistant
Community Preservation Committee
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