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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-06-10-CPC-min Minutes of the Community Preservation Committee Tuesday, June 10, 2014 Parker Room, Town Office Building 1625 Massachusetts Avenue 3:30 pm Committee Members Present: Marilyn Fenollosa, Chair; Richard Canale, Norman Cohen, David Horton, Jeanne Krieger, Bob Pressman, Sandy Shaw and Richard Wolk, Vice Chair. Absent: Leo McSweeney Administrative Assistant : Nathalie Rice Also in attendance were Carl Valente, Town Manager; Rob Addelson, Assistant Town Manager for Finance; Glenn Parker, Chair of the Appropriation Committee; David Kanter, Vice Chair of the Capital Expenditures Committee; and Karen Mullins, Director of Community Development. The meeting was called to order at 3:31 pm. by Ms. Fenollosa. 1.Community Center Request for Supplemental CPA Funding  Mr. Patrick Goddard, Director of Public Facilities met with the CPC to present a request for $500,000 in additional CPA funding for the Community Center. He explained that the project was now at a 90% design and document stage, and that as a result, there was a differential of $1.5M for the budget approved in the 2014 March Special Town Meeting. He presented a spreadsheet which detailed the hard and soft costs. He noted that the cost increase had caused the Ad Hoc Community Center Advisory Committee to reduce the scope of the project. He said items such as a handicapped ramp in the front of the building and renovations to the Building Envelope, would be added to the scope on an €add alternate basis. (This would involve adding back these items if the bids came in lower than expected.) Mr. Pressman inquired about the Historic Preservation Restriction on the Community Center property. Ms. Fenollosa said she believed that the Restriction had remained unchanged since it had been submitted to the Board of Selectmen with comments from the Historical Commission. Mr. Kanter agreed, stating that the Restriction had not yet, €been put to bed. Mr. Pressman stated that he was concerned that the potential for affordable housing had been eliminated from the Restriction. Ms. Fenollosa asked Mr. Pressman if he wished to postpone the vote on additional funding because of his housing objections to which he replied that he did not. Ms. Fenollosa called for a vote on Mr. Goddards request for $500,000 in additional CPA funding for the Community Center. After a motions duly made and seconded, the CPC voted (7-1) to recommend to the June 2014 Special Town Meeting the appropriation of $500,000 in cash from the Community Preservation Fund for supplemental funding for renovations to the Community Center. 1 2.Cary Memorial Building Request for Supplemental Funding This request for supplemental funding was indefinitely postponed by the Board of Selectmen, and therefore not raised for discussion with the CPC. 3.430 Concord Avenue, Sellars Property, Pending Litigation  Sellars vs. Town of Lexington (This item had also been shown on the Agenda as an Executive Session, but Town Manager Carl Valente stated the discussion on this topic could be held in Open Session.) Mr. Valente explained that the Town was conducting a title search on the Sellars property at 430 Concord Avenue. Members questioned whether the title search would conclude that the Town owned the 12 acre property, and if so, whether the article at the upcoming Special Town Meeting would be indefinitely postponed. Mr. Valente responded that if the matter was €black and white, the Town would not proceed with the taking. There was a general discussion of the issue, and Mr. Valente presented a table which outlined the estimated costs for the project. Mr. Valente stated that the Selectmens request to the CPC would be in the range of $220,000; $180,000 for the taking of the parcel, and $40,000 for the associated legal work. Mr. Valente and the CPC discussed the history of the parcel, with Mr. Pressman noting its transfer to the Conservation Commission in 1975. Mr. Valente also discussed the development constraints of the parcel; it has no current upland access, and is primarily wet. Ms. Mullins highlighted the conservation values of the parcel which included flood storage, wildlife value and vernal pool habitat. It was unknown whether a trail could be cut through the 12 acre parcel due to the abundance of wetlands. It appeared likely, however, that a trail could be cut from Concord Road to the parcel. After a motion duly made and seconded, the CPC voted (8-0) to recommend to the June Special Town Meeting the appropriation of $220,000 in CPF cash under the designation of Open Space for the title search and taking of the Sellars Property at 430 Concord Road. In response to a suggestion by David Kanter, the CPC also voted (8-0) to recommend to the June Special Town Meeting the appropriation of up to $10,000 in FY14 funds from the CPA Administrative account for due diligence. 4.CPF Finances  Mr. Addelson, Assistant Town Manager for Finance reviewed the CPF finances with the Committee in light of its vote to approve up to $230,000 in CPA funding for the taking of the Sellars property. He presented an updated version of his CPA Fund spreadsheet, which detailed the impact of the CPC vote to approve an additional $500,000 for the Community Center Project. 5.Approval of Minutes - The minutes of the meetings of 3/13, 3/18, and 4/7 were approved as amended. 2 6.Updates and Member Concerns a.)New Email- ‚ communitypreservationcmte@lexingtonma.gov. Ms. Rice explained that the Town would be testing a new email address for the CPC. The email is designed to capture the public record between members and their committees. Committee emails would be archived in the same manner that staff emails are currently archived. b.)Overdue Projects - Ms. Fenollosa and Ms. Rice reported that there are certain project applicants with overdue projects, some dating back to 2007. Ms. Fenollosa stated that she would like to contact the applicants to remind them to bring their long-standing projects to a close. Members concurred with this action; Ms. Rice will email the applicants. c.)Busa Acquisitionallocation of Open Space and Housing costs ‚ ‚ The CPC briefly discussed the allocation of land costs on the Busa parcel in light of Town Meeting approval for the construction of affordable housing along Lowell Street. Mr. Canale will follow up on the acreage designations, so that the CPC can properly categorize the project. The following documents were presented at the meeting: 1.Lexington Community Center Total Project ‚ Updated June 6, 2014. 2.430 Concord Avenue Taking Estimate , undated. 3.CPA Fund ‚ Projected Revenues and Expenditures (supplemental $500,000 for Community Center from available funds), 6/10/2104. The meeting was adjourned at 5:20 pm. Respectfully submitted, Nathalie Rice Administrative Assistant Community Preservation Committee 3