HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-06-03-SBFRC-min Ad Hoc Stone Building Feasibility/Reuse Committee RECEIVED
Town of Lexington, MA 2021 29 119 , 1�91 Ipii7'i
June 3, 20218:00 AM TOWN CLERK
LEXINGTON MA
AGENDA
Members of the public can view the meeting webinar from their computer or tablet by clicking
on the following link at the time of the meeting:
Join Zoom Meeting
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Phone: +1929 436 2866
Meeting ID: 927 1149 3640
Passcode: 162017
1. Roll Call & Reading of Statement on Use of Virtual Meetings
2. Approval of Minutes (May 20, 2021)
3. PUBLIC COMMENTS
4. OLD BUSINESS
a. Review of June 1 meeting discussions
b. Review of Committee Task List (see below)
5. NEW BUSINESS
6. Adjournment
ADDENDUM:
Per Task List:
From Anne to the committee: examples of similar successful projects:
Examples of public/private partnerships
1.In Harwich the South Harwich Meeting house is owned and leased by the town. The
full preservation project was public/private and received preservation awards. I was not
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invok/edinthe project, the group "Friends ofSouth Harwich Meeting House" are the
group responsib[efor this incredib[eproject.
https://www.capecodt'imes.com/news/20190623/State-La!ids-l6- ea r-renovation-of-sout
Ga[k/ []rbano. Harwich
2. The BrookLine MusicSchooLgota Longterm Lease from the town for the Kennard
house, which required approval. by the LegisLature for the Length of the Lease, which in
turn a[[ovved it to take out a mortgage-Like Loan to make changes to the interior after the
town did work on the exterior-- inc[uding Lopping off a service wing.
Dennis [)eWitt, Bnook[ine
3. InBerkLey. about 5years ago, the Historical. Society was granted aLease bythe town
Se[ectrnen, to occupy the 1849 [)[d Town Ha[[. The Historical. Society, has now tota[k/
renovated the bui[dingfrom rep[acingrotten si[[stotaking out the dropped cei[ingand
removing nnu[ti[ayerof [ino[eunntorestore back tothe original. wooden f[oor.
The Historical. Commission obtained private grantstota[ing cLoseto $60.000; and an
additional. $100.000endowment grant. The interest off the endowment grant and other
fund raisers a[[ovvs the Historical. Society to pay for the upkeep of the buiLding /a[so heat.
e[ectricitv. etc\. Sonow off the Berk[eytaxpayer support.
The bui[dingnow isthe Berk[eyHistorical. Museum and houses (maybe too much)
historical. artifacts donated to the Society.
You can see more about the project at
. And see some Ofthe before/after pictures 8t
from P2DlOViOg 8[[th8t Ugk/ 8[8[1[i[8[VVi[iOg
from the front of the buiLding to restoring it back to the 1849 original.
For more information, you can contact rne //\nne\ and Ivvi[[ put you intouch with the
Leader ofthe renovation project and the curator ofthe museum. [)ryou can reach them
through the Berk[eyHistorical. SocietvFacebookpage.
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Marge Ghilarducci, Secretary, Berkley Historical Commission
4.Brookline has rented out several of its historic properties- Some to non profits, The
Auto Museum at Larz Anderson Park (the carriage house) and the Brookline Arts Center
(an old firehouse). In each case, the organization does renovation, often included in the
Lease agreement, with consultation of the Town. A few other places have been rented
out to individuals. In some cases, the individual does work for reduced rent, much like the
DCR Historic Curatorship program. Other Town buildings are taken care of by the Town
and rented out to individuals; 2 are used by the Historical Society with an early 1900s
agreement.
Greer Hardwick, Brookline
Examples of a public/private partnership in Lexington:
1. Gerrity House, 9 Hancock St.
Between 1981 and 1984 Anne Grady was the chair of a selectmen's committee to
save what was known as the Garrity House (for the former park employee who lived
there) and carriage house. These two buildings were on the town-owned Buckman
Tavern property. The Garrity House was about to be condemned. She was asked to
form the committee because she was chair of the Lexington Historical Commission
at the time. The final solution was to give a Norman Trudeau a 99 year lease on the
building for repairing it according to preservation standards. With Town Counsel,
we created a lengthy lease document. If Trudeau sold the building the Town would
have first refusal. I believe that the Lexington Historic District Commission
administers the restrictions, which cover the interior as well as the exterior.
2. Buckman Tavern 1913 when the remaining three-acres of land and the Buckman
Tavern were threatened with redevelopment, the Town of Lexington and the Lexington
Historical Society stepped in to save the building. In a public/private partnership,
unusual at the time, the Town owned the property, but the Historical Society assumed
management under a 99-year lease, which was renewed in 2012.
3. Munroe Center for the Arts is located in the former 1904 Munroe elementary school
(decommissioned in 1974). The nonprofit originally licensed this building in 1984, and
more recently went through the RFP process to change this to a 10 year lease (with
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two additional 10 year extensions). The organization pays $2k, to the town each
month, and in turn is expected to take care of all the maintenance and upkeep. This
extends to such things beyond regular janitorial care as snow plowing and mowing,
fire radio bills, replacing the roof and the parking lot, and insulating the attic. More
recently the Center applied for state and CPA funds to renovate 123 windows in the
building. In 2018 a sprinkler froze when a transom window blew open in a windstorm,
and the Town managed the damage caused by the resulting water damage.
Essentially, there is no line item in the Town Facilities' budget and this building is
expected to be taken care of by the Center.
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