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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-12-09-CPC-min RECEIVED 2022 28 Jain, ain't TOWN CLERK Minutes of the Community Preservation Committee LEXINGTON MA Thursday, December 9, 2021 Remote Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 869 8806 4599 4:00 PM Committee Members Present: Marilyn Fenollosa (Chair); Charles Hornig (Vice-Chair), David Horton,Jeanne Krieger, David Langseth, Joe Pato (arrived at 4:10PM), Bob Pressman, Lisah Rhodes, Melinda Walker. Administrative Assistant: Gina Federico Other Attendees: David Kanter, Vice-Chair, Capital Expenditures Committee liaison to the CPC; Amber Carr, Conservation Coordinator; Mike Cronin, Director of Public Facilities; Alex Dohan, Conservation Commission; Caileen Foley, Executive Director, Lexington Housing Authority; Phil Hamilton (arrived 4:08 PM), Chair, Conservation Commission; William Kennedy, Chair, LexHAB; Karen Mullins, Conservation Administrator; Shawn Newell, Assistant Director of Public Facilities; David Pollak, Architect; Lester Savage, LexHAB; Annie Steele, Architect; Ingrid Klimoff (arrived 4:04 PM), Town Meeting Member. Ms. Fenollosa called the meeting to order at 4:02 PM. Revised FY23 CPA Funding Request- Lexington Housing Authority-Vynebrooke Village Modernization Prosect- Ms. Foley requested $454,615 in CPA funds to supplement state funding for a large-scale modernization project at Vynebrooke Village, including the conversion of three units into fully handicapped accessible units. Ms. Foley revised her original application due to feedback from the Committee wanting a more detailed breakdown of which expenses are CPA funding-eligible. Ms. Foley addressed Town Counsels annual CPA eligibility memo expressing concerns about the eligibility of the wetland mitigation and the use of funds for preservation of the ADA units. Ms. Foley explained that Vynebrooke is in a wetland area and that the ADA unit bump outs are going to be in the resource area which is why there is a need for wetland mitigation funding. The project will create more wetlands and in the process invasive species will be removed. Mr. Hornig stated that improving ADA compliance is considered rehabilitation according to the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and that rehabilitation is only allowed under the CPA if the units were purchased with CPA funds, which Vynebrooke Village was not. Ms. Fenollosa asked if preservation of the units would require compliance with ADA requirements. Mr. Pollak said yes. Mr. Pressman stated that wetland mitigation could be eligible for CPA funding under the Open Space category and posed the idea of funding the wetland mitigation under Open Space instead of Community Housing. Ms. Foley asked the 1 RECEIVED 2022 28Jain, ui °m TOWN CLERK LEXINGTON MA Committee for an opportunity to address Town Counsel's concerns in an email. The Committee agreed with Ms. Foley's request to respond to Town Counsel but to send the response to Ms. Federico first and then she will forward it to Town Counsel. Mr. Pato suggested that Ms. Foley to apply for Town American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds if Town Counsel does not think the project is CPA eligible. The Committee voted by a roll call vote in a straw poll to fund the request to the maximum extent possible with CPA funds (9-0). Ms. Foley, Mr. Pollak and Ms. Steele left the meeting at 4:39 PM FY23 CPA Funding Request- Conservation-Wright Farm Barn Stabilization and Preservation- Ms. Mullins provided an update on the status of the Wright Farm Barn project since it was first presented to the Committee. Conservation met with the Facilities Department to secure the building from trespassers. Ms. Mullins stated that Conservation would like to restructure their request into a phased plan with the hope to request CPA funding in FY23 for a road map and CPA funding in FY24 for reconstruction or rehabilitation of the barn. Ms. Dohan stated that they are hoping to hear back from Colin Smith shortly with an estimate for phase one of the project which would be a study. Ms. Fenollosa reminded Conservation of the Committee's 12-29 deadline to submit a warrant article to the Select Board and suggested putting the project on the warrant with a TBD until Colin Smith can produce a figure. Mr. Pressman asked about environmental testing. Ms. Mullins stated that pesticide removal was done when the property was first purchased. Mr. Pressman explained that testing was done on the material outside of the barn and additional testing should be done for material inside of the structure. Ms. Dohan stated that she will include the testing in the estimate from Colin Smith. Mr. Hornig asked if this is something that could be spent out of administrative funds. Ms. Fenollosa said yes. Mr. Langseth stated that he would also like soil testing done in the interior as well. Mr. Horton asked what the proposed road map entails. Ms. Dohan stated that it would be a document detailing the goals of the project and the steps it take to get there. Ms. Fenollosa asked if the road map would be better for Special Town Meeting because of the time constraints. Ms. Dohan said if they can get a figure from Colin Smith next week, Annual Town Meeting is preferred. Mr. Hornig asked approximately how much the road map would cost. Ms. Dohan stated possibly$20,000. The Committee voted by a roll call vote in a straw poll to approve the project as a place holder with an amount to be determined in the hopes that Colin Smith will provide a figure for the plan and environmental testing in the time needed for Annual Town Meeting (8-0-1) Mr. Hornig was a "wait". 2 RECEIVED 2022 28 Jain, ui °m TOWN CLERK LEXINGTON MA FY23 CPA Funding Request- Facilities- Pour-in-Place-surfaces- Mr. Newell discussed the updated CIP request for Pour-in-Place (PIP) surfaces and detailed the proposed work that will be done at each site. Ms. Fenollosa asked why four schools are being done at the same time instead of being phased. Mr. Newell stated that Facilities has the capacity to do all four in one year and if the project is phased each year, the cost is projected to increase by 3-4%. Ms. Fenollosa asked if the structures and material would all fail at the same time. Mr. Cronin stated that he is not anticipating failure at the same rate because of maintenance.The replacement process will start in 2033. Mr. Newell stated that Facilities is creating a 20-year life cycle plan. Mr. Pressman stated that he is concerned about the increased price and asked if they anticipate multiple bids for the project. Mr. Newell stated that they would like to receive multiple bids but do not anticipate many since a lot of companies are short staffed. Mr. Pressman stated that he hopes to see a request for drainage at Bowman in the future because the playing field has become swa m py. The Committee voted by a roll call vote in a straw poll to support the project (9-0). Mr. Cronin and Mr. Newell left at 5:26 PM. FY23 CPA Funding Request- LexHAB- 116 Vine Street Construction- At the request of the Committee, LexHAB had been invited to the 12-9-21 CPC meeting to present an estimated cost for 116 Vine Street construction. Mr. Kennedy stated that based on Farmview costs, a 25% increase due to COVID-19 and inflation, $5.3 million is the estimated construction cost. Mr. Hornig asked when construction would start if Town Meeting approved the project. Mr. Kennedy stated it would start in fall 2022. The Committee voted by a roll call vote in a straw poll to support the project (9-0). Ms. Walker stated that the cost per unit is high. Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Savage left the meeting at 5:33 PM. CPA Finance Ms. Fenollosa briefly explained the Community Preservation Fund Balance Spreadsheet and stated that if the Committee funds all projects as presented there will be approximately$2.6 million remaining. Mr. Hornig asked about the Committee's policy of a $2 million reserve and believes that it was in unrestricted funds. Mr. Kanter commented on the policy bearing on the projected balance. 3 RECEIVED 2022 28 Jain, ui °m TOWN CLERK LEXINGTON MA Review Draft Letter of CPC Support for Munroe Center for the Arts- Ms. Walker updated the Committee on the status of the draft letter of support for the Munroe Center for the Arts. The Munroe Center asked to put the letter on hold until they get closer to applying for a Mass Cultural Council grant. 2021 Needs Assessment Report-The Committee discussed the yearly Needs Assessment Report and Ms. Federico informed the Committee that some edits and comments have been left out of the draft that was circulated and she will send a revised draft. A Public Hearing is scheduled for 12-16-21 at 7:00 PM. LexHAB Guidelines- Mr. Hornig discussed the revised LexHAB guidelines. Mr. Pato questioned why the section on energy efficiency was removed. Mr. Hornig stated that since the Town has an existing energy policy, wording was removed throughout the document to avoid any potential conflict with Town policies. Mr. Pressman stated that he believes LexHAB should not be held to Town policies that private developers do not have to follow. Ms. Walker stated that the cost per unit is much higher than DHCD guidelines for funding. She said that if it is going to cost more per unit to build affordable housing in Lexington than in neighboring communities, the Town should make it a practice to find ways to subsidize the cost. Mr. Kanter asked why there was a dollar amount listed per dwelling. Mr. Hornig stated that it was important to people at the time the Guidelines were first adopted. Ms. Fenollosa asked Mr. Pato what the Select Board would say if the guidelines were eliminated. Mr. Pato stated that it would need to be discussed with the Board but most of the items are reminders. Mr. Horton stated that the guidelines shows the public how the Committee operates and if they are not harmful or restrictive he suggests leaving them in for the public benefit. Ms. Fenollosa stated that the Committee will revisit the Guidelines in January. Minutes-After a motion duly made and seconded, the Committee voted by a roll call vote to approve the minutes from the Public Meeting on 11-18-2021 (9-0). Committee Business-The Committee decided to hold a Public Meeting at 4:00 PM on 12-16-21 and Ms. Federico reminded the Committee about the Public Hearing at 7:00 PM on 12-16-21. Ms. Federico reported on the FY21 CPA administrative account and explained the expenditures from the account and stated that $96,142.70 was returned back to the CPF in unspent funds. The total FY21 appropriation was $150,000. After a motion duly made and seconded, the Committee voted by a roll call vote (9-0) to adjourn at 6:23 PM. The following documents were used at the meeting: 1) Community Preservation Fund Balances dated 12-9-2021 2) 116 Vine St. Construction estimate 4 RECEIVED 2022 28Jain, ii °m TOWN CLERK 3) Revised FY23 Funding Application- Lexington Housing Authority LEXINGTON MA 4) Revised FY23 Funding Application- Wright Farm Barn 5) Revised FY23 Funding Application- Pour-in-Place-surfaces 6) Anderson Kreiger Memorandum dated 12-8-21 7) Draft LexHAB Guidelines dated 8) 11-18-21 Draft Minutes Respectfully submitted, Gina Federico Administrative Assistant Community Preservation Committee 5