Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-05-22-HATS-min Hanscom Area Towns Committee (HATS) Meeting of May 22, 2014 DRAFT Meeting Minutes HATS Members Present. Peter Braun, HATS Chair and Lincoln Selectmen; Deb Mauger, Lexington Selectmen, Michael Rosenberg, Bedford Selectmen. Other HATS Representatives Present. Andy Friedlich, Lexington; John Willson, Chair of the Bedford Conservation Commission Others in attendance: Carmin Reiss, Concord Selectmen, attending for Elise Woodward; Adam Freudberg, Military Assets and Security Strategy Task Force director; Stu Kennedy, Lexington Conservation Commission; Jim Meadors, Co- Chair of the Lincoln Conservation Commission;; Gary Davis, Lincoln resident and Jet Aviation Abutter; Jennifer Green-Lanchoney, 66th Air Base Group Public Affairs and Community Relations; Natalie Kaufman, regional liaison for Congresswoman Katherine Clark Mr. Braun opened the meeting at 7.30 p.m. with welcome and introductions at the Lincoln Town Offices. He announced that Cong. Katherine Clark will not be able to be in attendance as planned due to flight delays and will be rescheduled for the Fall Mr Braun thanked Cong. Clark for her willingness to develop a relationship with HATS and attend a HATS meeting. Natalie Kaufman said that Cong. Clark will be in Lexington on June 5th if anyone was interested in seeing her before the Fall. Military Assets and Strategy Task Force Report - Adam Freudberq.: Mr. Braun introduced Mr. Freudberg and thanked him for appearing again at a HATS meeting Mr Freudberg is currently on a State tour to share the accomplishments and plans of the Task Force. He provided handouts and thanked everyone for welcoming him. Mr Freudberg works for Governor Patrick as a policy advisor for military initiatives. The Task Force is now two years old. Its mission has now been codified in the recently-enacted Military Assets Bond Bill. The current tour is for educational purposes, as the Task Force is continuing to work with the Base and communities The Task Force works toward enhancing the Base because it is important to national security and the Massachusetts economy. It was discussed what the Task Force has done for HAFB. They have senior leaders in federal, state and local government involved in the effort to support to the military base for energy, transportation, and personnel issues There has been technical assistance for work force training -- 34 HAFB employees are now obtaining graduate level security training. There is a project to strengthen access roads to the Base as well as security. There have been meetings with the Secretary of the Air Force and General Welch. Mr. Freudberg added that one of Cong. Clark's activities this day is to be part of a delegation from Massachusetts lobbying to enhance the understanding in Washington that Hanscom has a unique mission that is uniquely served by area institutions and should not be evaluated by the same criteria used for the standard Air Force base that handles air wings. The Military Assets Bond Bill was discussed. This was filed in 2013 and passed and signed into law There is the option for the Governor's office to spend $177M in State funds for projects of mutual benefit to the military and the public interest. Eligibility criteria for use of the finds is outlined in the document handed out (see hand out). In general, the goal is to invest in economic development, education and innovation to grow jobs This bill also codifies the Task Force in law, keeping a nationally recognized successful model in place. Governor Patrick will be awarded the Association for Defense Communities State Leadership award in the next two weeks. The bill expands the mandate to encourage partnerships with other states for services as well as advocacy, and appoints Mass Development and the National Guard as the two lead state and public agencies to advise on issues and activities. They are currently looking for ideas for future projects that meet the criteria. One approved project is for $2.9M for the CEIF project (IT computer lab doing unique research for the Air Force mission) that has potential for partnerships and growth in the industry. Contact information is on the handouts. Mr. Braun said that HATS welcomes the work of the Task Force and the various projects in development to enhance the Base, including the proposed Vandenberg Gate renovation, the federal funding request for a new on-Base dormitory for unmarried airmen, the federally-funded middle school and primary school replacement projects, and the State-funded energy audit. Ms. Mauger thanked Mr. Freudberg for the update and said she had two topics for discussion. The first is regarding solarizing Lexington and Bedford, realizing the recent value of rooftops (via leasing or self use). She asked if there will be any effort to benefit the Base in a solarizing program either from the Base itself or communities whose land is on the Base Mr Freudberg said there is an 8-month energy assessment process that began in April and includes reaching out to surrounding towns. Phase 1 was initial meetings with Base staff and is currently ending Phase 2 will include reaching out and may begin in the next month Matt McSwain is the lead on this Ms. Mauger said there is full support of the Base and the need to reduce operating costs and replace or renovate older building structures. The Air Force has worked with Lexington regarding the historical status of several unused buildings proposed for demolition or leasing. There is always a question regarding what entity will provide services such as public safety if there is commercial development on the Base, since the buildings and land are not locally taxable. This could cause a strain for Massachusetts. She asked about the applicability of local zoning laws if this land is managed by MassDevelopment. Ms. Mauger also asked if local communities might have the option to purchase unused land if it is not leased for commercial development. Mr Freudberg said these were important issues but did not have specific responses at this time. However, there would be a formal process involved in any commercial development and the Task Force will be able to assist with coordination of the best options as well as in resolving issues. In response to Mr Rosenberg's question, Mr Freudberg stated that the Task Force is monitoring the political environment in Washington regarding a possible process for base realignment or closure (BRAC) At this time, the DoD proposal for a 2017 BRAC was rejected by the House There are questions regarding whether the 2005 BRAC provided adequate savings and if enough has been accomplished outside the continental U.S. to reduce cost. Delegation support was discussed along with status of sequestration cuts Ms. Reiss asked regarding appropriate projects that could be funded under the Military Assets Bond Bill. Mr. Freudberg stated that a few projects have been approved and that others are being evaluated. Mr. Friedlich suggested that the Task Force help the community with DARPA funding for health care, materials, and IT. Mr. Freudberg said they do assist in these areas and will be sure to look into this further. Mr. Friedlich also suggested helping to improve communication with those on the Base. Mr. Freudberg was thanked for attending, and he said he would return soon for general or more specifically requested updates. Jet Aviation/Lincoln Conservation Commission Proceeding. When the Jet Aviation project was presented at the November 2013 meeting, HATS urged them to apply to the Lincoln Conservation Commission (LCC) regarding wetlands permitting The LCC proceeding has gone through 5 public hearings and concluded with a decision. LCC Co-Chair Jim Meadors was in attendance to report. A factual report on the decision was distributed and discussed for informational purposes only. The project was to construct a new hangar (to replace a smaller outdated hangar) to house a new generation of jets with a longer wingspans and provide additional ramp space for planes to turn around. The project would cause a reduction of parking spaces, so they also proposed to construct two parking lots and a new access road to the main building. An effort was made to stay completely out of the wetlands, including those newly discovered through this process There was a fair amount of proposed building within the Lincoln by-law's 100 ft wetland buffer zone, mostly outside of the State DEP regulation's 50 ft buffer zone. Jet Aviation filed under MA Wetlands Protection Act but not under the local bylaw. The Town hired an expert engineering firm to review the Jet Aviation engineering calculations, which were thorough -- the storm water treatment facilities proposed were confirmed to be able to do the job they were going to do and will have a positive effect on the storm water treatment as a whole. The water going into the Shawsheen River will be continually evaluated. The Town worked with Jet Aviation to move as much as possible out of the 50 ft buffer zone. The Commission officially voted that the interests covered under the Wetlands Protection Act would be protected given certain conditions and issued an Order of Conditions, for which there is a 10 day appeal period The Order also stated the LCC's opinion that Jet Aviation should have filed under the local bylaw. Ms Reiss asked if the Order is based solely on the MA Act or also on the local bylaw, and Mr. Meadors confirmed that it is based solely on the former. He also stated that the LLC kept the local bylaw in mind in issuing its Order but did not formally require them to file under it. They did work to obtain concessions by shrinking the project as much as possible Mr. Willson, Chair of the Bedford Conservation Commission, asked how much they pulled back out of the 50 ft buffer, and Mr. Meadors said it was a significant amount There is still 6-7,000 s f of new impervious surface within the 50 ft buffer but the original request was for more than 10,000 s.f. Mr Willson asked if there would be additional leverage to obtain additional concessions if the local bylaw were deemed applicable, to which Mr. Meadors responded that it is unclear at this time. Mr. Kennedy, Lexington Conservation Commission, asked what the rationale was not to file under local bylaw, and Mr. Meadors responded that Jet Aviation/Massport claimed they are exempt to the same extent as any state agency. It was discussed that under recent SJC opinions, the local bylaw can apply to a State agency if there would be no more than a negligible effect on the fundamental mission of the agency. Gary Davis stated that he had attended all of the LCC meetings and congratulated the LCC on an excellent job of listening to the public, deferring not- on-topic points, and negotiating concessions. HATS Website. Mr. Braun reported that he has conferred with the Lincoln IT director regarding the easiest way to establish a HATS website and that they recommend an online company called Square Space. They offer 24 x 7 tech support and domain hosting for a cost under $200 a year (which could be shared among the towns). This would be an electronic central repository for minutes and documents, links to video recordings, links to town and partner websites, a vision statement of who HATS is, meeting agendas, membership listing, etc. Mr Braun stated that a lot of effort has been put into HATS and it is time for a web presence. HATS can develop mission and policy statements. Ms Mauger asked if the Town Clerk has issues with public meeting law and record keeping. Mr. Braun said there were no objections except where paper records will be kept. Website creation is easy but maintenance is the issue. The HATS Board discussed rotating maintenance with the Chair. They also discussed domain name options as well as graphics and future content Brooke Whiting Cash, a Concord Planning Board member, was in attendance and said this seems like the perfect portal for links to area resources for communities to access. A primary focus is the Base and military matters to get it started. There was consensus to move ahead with this and possibly review an initial construct at the July HATS meeting. Expenses like this have been shared by the towns successfully in the past, so no bank account is needed at this time. Lincoln will cover the expense this year. Regional Transportation Updates. Mr. Rosenberg said he did not have the time table but Bedford will soon be lining the force main that runs under Bedford Street Bond has been approved already for this Mr. Braun said there is not much to report on the Rt 2 project. They are in last stages of negotiating significant landscaping and fence related improvements and the timing might have them begin in the Fall. The flyover is beginning to take shape and the health care facility will be getting into the ground soon. It was asked what accommodations there will be for pedestrian connectivity from one side of Rt 2 to another. This was discussed and will be put as a future agenda item (Complete Streets). Ms. Mauger will evaluate who to invite for this. The rebuild of the Rt 2 bridge over 128 will begin soon. Mr Friedlich stated that he had talked with two Lexington and Bedford Economic Development Officer who were meeting regarding new ideas for transportation enhancements for area commercial entities. He recommended they be in touch with Ms. Mauger or Mr. Rosenberg to be included on a HATS agenda. Future meeting dates. There will be no meeting in June. Meetings were set for 7/24, 9/25 and 10/23. New Base leadership may attend the September meeting. Mr. Rosenberg will not be in attendance at the 9/25 meeting. Congressswoman Clark may be tentatively scheduled to attend the 9/25 meeting Visitors from Complete Streets will be for later in the year. Future agenda items: The need for agenda items for 7/24 was discussed. Minutes: Minutes from 4/24 were updated to include comments from Elise and can be approved. Minutes from 3/27/14 were edited by Mr. Rosenberg. Motion: Ms. Mauger moved to approve the 4/24/14 minutes as edited. Mr Rosenberg seconded the motion There was no discussion Vote: Approved 3-0-1 (Ms. Reiss abstained as not part of the original quorum.) Mr. Braun and Mr. Rosenberg were the only members present who attended the 3/27 meeting, so action was deferred. Mr. Braun reported that the Lincoln Town Clerk asked where existing minutes are archived. HATS discussed that each Town archives for the year of their Chair However, a future item is to talk to respective Town Clerks as to how to handle minutes. As a regional planning committee, HATS is not formally subject to the open meeting laws but has agreed to abide by them. The members agreed to request clarification from the Town Clerks regarding archiving-related issues. It is an issue to have to go to different towns for different minutes so it was suggested to have each town have copies of all approved minutes Adiourn: Ms. Mauger moved to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Braun seconded the motion Vote- Approved 4-0-0 The meeting adjourned at 9.10 pm.