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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-01-21-CPC-min 01/21/15CPC Minutes Community Preservation Committee Meeting Wednesday, January 21, 2015 Parker Room, Town Office Building 1625 Massachusetts Avenue 3:00 p.m. DRAFT Committee Members Present: Marilyn Fenollosa, Chair; Dick Wolk, Vice Chair; Richard Canale; Norm Cohen; David Horton; Jeanne Krieger; Leo McSweeney; Bob Pressman, Sandy Shaw Committee Members Absent: None Recording Secretary: Sara Arnold Other attendees:Carl Valente, Town Manager;Rob Addelson, Assistant Town Manager for Finance; John Livsey, Town Engineer; Karen Mullins, Conservation Administrator; Phil Hamilton, Chair, Conservation Commission; David Kanter, Capital Expenditures Committee; Bob Burbidge, LexHab The meeting was called to order at 3:05 p.m. 1.New Projects for CPC Action: Wright Farm Land Acquisition: Mr. Valente reported on a recently submitted FY2016 Capital Project Request for purchasing land in northwest Lexington. The Town purchased one portion of Wright Farm (Parcel 1) in 2012, using CPA funding, and at the time arranged for a first- right-of-refusal agreement to purchase Parcel 2 for $500,000 plus Consumer Price Index (CPI) increases, when it became available. The owner of the land passed away two weeks ago. The Town has not received official notification that the land is available for purchase, but when it does, the Town will have 180 days to exercise its option. Using CPA funds to purchase the land is appropriate because it meets three of the four CPA criteria (open space, historic and housing). The land includes a house, garage and barn. LexHAB is interested in rehabilitating the house and garage for affordable housing. The Conservation Commission is interested in using the barn for educational programs. The property is listed on Lexington’s Comprehensive Cultural Resources Survey (the “Inventory”) and is therefore a historic resource. It was noted that LexHAB, the Conservation Commission, and the Historical Commission had representatives at this meeting. There are no other anticipated stakeholders. The house was built in 1843 and has four bedrooms. LexHAB has more requests for three and four bedroom housing units than are available. The house is in reasonable condition although some inside and outside rehabilitation/restoration are necessary. Contractors would be better suited for doing this work than Minuteman Tech students, who do best with new construction. Current ideas include moving the garage and putting parking where the garage is now located. When Parcel 1 was purchased, in 2012, appraisals indicated that Parcel 2 was worth $500,000 to $570,000 without the CPI adjustment. Purchasing it for $520,000 would not be exceeding the value of the house. Current cost estimates include the following: 1 01/21/15CPC Minutes $520,000 for purchasing the property; $ 80,000 to $100,000 for ancillary costs such as surveys (approximately $35,000) and legal fees (unknown at this time); $140,000 for rehabilitation/restoration. There was discussion about clearly identifying the purposes for purchasing the property; otherwise the use may be open for interpretation by others. It was noted that the property had not been used for significant farming, and it was mostly comprised of wetlands and woodlands, neither of which is conducive to farming. It was also noted that historically, conversations relating to the use of Wright Farm have been limited to conservation, housing, and historical purposes. It has been identified as having multiple land types and it abuts Burlington’s Landlocked Forest, making it a wonderful laboratory for environmental programs. Arguments for alternative uses are not anticipated, and it was generally agreed that there is little that would support introducing alternative ideas. There was discussion about subdividing the property for housing and open space purposes. Various approaches were explored, taking into consideration the Town’s Bylaws. Mr. Valente suggested that these are issues that need to be addressed after the land is conveyed to the Town; he agreed that some legal complexities may need to be addressed to get all the pieces into place. There was discussion about the funding of the purchase. Mr. Addelson indicated that it may be possible for the Town to support a cash transaction, particularly if the closing is after July 1, 2015, when a new fiscal year begins. The 180 day deadline for closing may make a post July 1, 2015 closing impossible. A motion was made and seconded to approve the use of CPA funds of up to $755,000 to purchase Parcel 2 of the Wright Farm to be used for open space, affordable housing and possible historic purposes. The final amount of the project cost is to be determined at a later date. VOTE: 9-0 Community Center Sidewalk: Mr. Livsey provided a history of the efforts to design a sidewalk from Marrett Road to the new Lexington Community Center (LCC). Initially, Town staff created two options, both of which crossed parts of land owned by the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library (Scottish Rite) and impacted their arced brick walls that are part of their entry landscaping. Proprietors of the Scottish Rite land opposed both of them. They do not see a need for a sidewalk, and they don’t want a design that changes the current arced brick walls that have symbolic meaning associated with the identity of their facility. Two additional options were then created, and there was a meeting in late December at the site to review the alternatives with interested parties. Consensus was not reached. It is being recommended that an outside designer be hired to facilitate the development of an acceptable design. This would involve a two-step process: Again exploring options with the proprietors of the Scottish Rite property; and Developing schematics with alternatives. DPF has a FY2016-FY2020 Capital Improvement Project (CIP) request for $50,000 to pursue this project. It is considered to be CPA eligible. 2 01/21/15CPC Minutes Mr. Livsey displayed an engineering drawing of the driveway that connects Marrett Road to the LCC. This triggered discussion about the challenges created by the terrain, the driveway’s entrances and exits for the museum and parking, and the necessary grade to have an Americans with Disabilities Act acceptable plan. Comments included the following: If there is a stretch of sidewalk that has steep walls, there could be safety issues associated with snow and ice because the sun would be blocked from melting the snow. There is sidewalk from the parking area to the LCC; new sidewalk is only needed to get to the parking area from Marrett Road. Dropping off pedestrians on Marrett Road should not be encouraged, but there should be a crosswalk for those who walk or take a bus to the facility. The Scottish Rite proprietors do not appear to have liability concerns about the lack of a sidewalk, but they may have liability concerns about the Town building a sidewalk on their property. The Scottish Rite proprietors do not support a sidewalk on the right side of the driveway when heading up the hill; and the Town does not see this as an appropriate option. It was suggested that the Town postpone this project until the facility is open to determine the needs and to see if a second access road is going to be built in the near future. A second access road would provide an alternative location for building a sidewalk. In response, comments included the following: Not having a sidewalk, even temporarily, seems inappropriate for a Town facility. Deferral could mean losing a whole year. If the Scottish Rite proprietors agree to a proposal, funds will be needed to pursue the project. Even if the funds are authorized they don’t have to be spent. A second access road is too far into the future to be a consideration. A motion was made and seconded to approve the use of $50,000 in CPA funds for hiring a firm to design sidewalk alternatives for the LCC. VOTE: 6-2-1 2.Project Updates: Cary Memorial Building Sidewalk: Mr. Cohen reported that $162,000 is being requested for sidewalk improvements around the Cary Memorial Building. It has not yet been determined who is authorized to approve such improvements, the BoS or the Historic Districts Commission. Minuteman Bikeway Way-Finding Signage: Ms. Fenollosa noted that this Committee previously supported a request for $39,000 for design funds for this project with construction costs identified as $200,000-$300,000. The construction costs are now estimated to be $330,000. She asked if there was any interest in reconsidering the vote; there was none. Mr. Kanter reported that a member of the CEC recently attended a Minuteman Advisory Group on Interlocal Coordination (MAGIC) meeting where there was discussion about plans to develop consistent signage for bikeways in the region. He suggested that this program could potentially “kickstart” the process and save Lexington money. Mr. Canale clarified that the purpose of the MAGIC program is to develop signage for the region’s scenic by-way. He envisions the Lexington project informing the MAGIC project rather than in reverse. It was generally agreed that there should be continued communication 3 01/21/15CPC Minutes regarding this project. th 3.Member Concerns: Ms. Fenollosa asked to have a meeting on February 12 at 3:00 p.m. to finalize questions relating to the Cary Memorial Building sidewalk project and the funding request for the purchase of the Wright Farm Parcel 2. Ms. Fenollosa announced that Mr. Wolk is planning to resign from the Conservation Commission, and therefore would also have to resign from this Committee. Mr. Wolk reported that this would take place in the spring. The meeting was adjourned at 4:30 p.m. The documents used at the meeting are listed below. Respectfully submitted, Sara Arnold Recording Secretary Approved ______________________ Exhibits 1.Agenda for January 21, 2015 2. FY2016 Capital Project Request; Community Development; January 20, 2015; regarding Wright Farm Parcel 2 purchase 3.FY2020 CIP: Community Center Sidewalk; DPF FY2016- 4. DPF Engineering Drawings: Community Center Sidewalk;11/12/14 5. FY16 CPA Project List (December 16, 2014) 4