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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1981-05-05-BOS-min 1 ' ,�� /?'i SELECTMEN'S MEETING May 5, 1981 An informational meeting of the Board of Selectmen with the residents of the Adams School area was held in Estabrook Hall, Cary Memorial Build- ing, on Tuesday, May 5, 1981 at 7 30 P.M Mr Crain, Mrs Miley, Mr Politi; Mr Hutchinson, Town Manager; Mrs Banks, Assistant to the Town Manager; Mrs Snow, Principal Clerk were present Mr Crain, acting as chairman, opened the meeting and explained its Adams School purpose as follows: The Selectmen plan to appoint another Committee to Info Meeting view the ultimate disposition of Adams School with particular emphasis on neighborhood concerns compatible with Town goals The Selectmen intend to provide a balance of representation on any designated committee to represent all points of view The immediate site has been a concern (approximately 2 acres for building and parcel to be conveyed subject to its ultimate purpose) He listed concerns as neighborhood compatibility, traffic, access and egress, protection of recreational property, compatibility with Town goals Maps of the area have been prepared The gross square footage of the build- ing is approximately 38,000 square feet Mr Crain requested input on views and concerns of those gathered regard- ing the use of the property This information will be transmitted to the full Board prior to defining a set of guidelines and appointment of the new Committee II/ In response to questions about the formation, function and procedures of the Committee as compared to the previous School Sites Conversion Commit- tee, Mr Crain repeated that the Board would first define parameters and guidelines and then people the Committee in a way that can be responsive to those parameters It would be a completely new, not an additional committee for Adams School He noted that the response from the neighborhood in oppo- sition to the recommendations of the precious committee and the fact that the Board was not in agreement with the Committee's output have prompted this step Pat Swanson suggested that more options should be examined in the next procedure and that the feasibility of leasing for office space should be looked at more carefully as a source of a great deal of revenue for the Town. Selling should be considered but she considers leasing to be more flexible than sale Frank Fuery referred to the concerns listed at the outset of the meeting, particularly "neighborhood compatibility" He felt as a nearby resident, that the only compatible use would be that of a school Traffic and parking from either commercial or housing use would, in his view, impact the area severely and constrict the use of the only recreational area available to the residents of the vicinity Joan Wall felt that encroachment of parking on the heavily used play- ground and access would occur, that use of the playground for recreation would be in conflict with housing use of the building and that the traffic impact from any but school use would be heavy She asked that the school use be allowed to continue , -2- John Holt asked if the Board was opposed to the continuing use by the Waldorf School Mr Crain responded that it was his personal feeling that the Board had nothing against the use of the building as a school but the Board is presented with the need to accommodate whatever use is made of that building in a way that considers the other priorities of the Town, some of which are financial If a school proposal proves to be the most viable use from the point of view of the Selectmen, and the Committee offers it as an alternative that can be worked out, it is certainly a possibility James Barry considered the Waldorf School to be the most appropriate use and of minimal impact on the neighborhood He suggested that the school could lease the property or buy it and make annual payments in lieu of taxes He mentioned that current and future enrollment of Lexington children in the Waldorf School would reduce the public school budget Michael O'Sullivan suggested that funds from sale or lease of the Adams School for school use could be channelled towards the Town's low/moderate income housing obligations Roland Gubisch spoke for the East Lexington Neighborhood Association in favor of the continuing use of the building by the Waldorf School He distributed a chart entitled "Adams School Site Use Considerations" which compared zoning, recreational, parking, traffic and historic aspects of school, housing and commercial uses and showed the changes entailed in each use. He raised questions concerning interior boundary lines shown on site plans displayed and site plans on file in the Planning Office which showed no division of the parcel Mr Hutchinson explained that the interior boundary line shown defined land taken for school purposes and the remain- der is land acquired in a number of different takings for Town use. For purposes of discussion, the immediate site of 2+ acres, which includes the immediate parking area, is the area under consideration For purposes of disposition of the property, it would be a matter of what ultimate develop- ment of the site is acted upon by the Board of Selectmen and Town Meeting Albert Zabin stated that the anxieties raised clearly showed; a need for a study by the Planning Department or outside consultants to investi- gate the impacts of alternative uses on the area, as an aid to the School Sites Conversion Committee Barbara Marshman, Follen Church, noted use of Hancock and Parker Schools for housing and the potential of the same use in the MuzzeV and Munroe Schools She spoke in favor of the Waldorf School and asked if there is a need to convert all phased out schools to housing Mr Crain stated that the use of Adams School has not been predeter- mined and, although the Town Meeting strongly urges an increase in low/moder- ate housing stock, the input in the case of Adams School for housing was not favorable. Also, the Board of Selectmen unanimously agreed that the alter- natives developed were not acceptable These are the reasons other uses are not to be considered Robert Blouin referred to previous Historic District Commission denial with regard to installation of traffic signals in the area and felt that LI 3C, -3- Selectmen's Meeting May 5, 1981 changes necessary for commercial or housing use of the school would be far more detrimental to the historic character of the East Village Dis- trict He favors school use and asked why the Board appears to feel need for change of use Mr Crain expressed his concern as to whether the Waldorf School is carrying its own financial weight under the present leasing situation. Negotations with the school are now going on to determine if an increase in the lease arrangement or sale of the property is a viable option Mary Shunney expressed confusion regarding the boundaries of the 2+ acre parcel to be conveyed and felt they should be defined at the outset She was not in favor of use of any portion of the recreation area for accessory parking Mr Crain stated that any alternative use and its density, traffic and parking requirements would determine encroachment, if any, on the recrea- tion area, hence the exact boundary lines cannot be decided upon at this time. Several others in the audience made statements in concurrence with Mrs Shunney's and in response, Mrs Miley recapped methods used for defin- ing lines in the cases of Hancock and Parker Schools, which proved to be preferable after decision on the use had been arrived at Mr. Gubisch asked what information was needed regarding assurance of financial success of the Waldorf School IIIMr Crain said the Board must understand the Waldorf School proposal for lease or purchase in a formal way Regarding leasing, costs to the Town would have to be determined and in the case of a sale, what the cash flow advantage would be to the Town In current negotiations with the school for : extended lease, the school is resisting an increase Mr Fuery repeated that since only support for the school had been voiced, he saw no need for months of the committee process to consider alternative uses Mr Crain repeated that the purpose of the meeting was to get opinions, points of view and suggestions as to viable options for the use of the Adams School and not to discuss the nature of the Committee. He repeated the pur- poses stated at the outset of the meeting Mrs Swanson said that she felt the Waldorf School was not the only use which would not impact the area and again suggested low density office use as a better financial proposition for the Town. She said not all are in favor of only school use. Julian Bussgang agreed with Mrs Swanson He suggested that parameters regarding uses and specific area , set forth in advance of invitation for proposals, would attract diverse development plans He favors long-term leasing Ron Levy raised questions concerning reversion of the school property to the Town if Waldorf School leased the property and either outgrew the facility or could not afford it in the future The Town would again be faced with its current problem In the case of sale, he asked what control the Town would have on subsequent sale by Waldorf School Mr Hutchinson replied that those were unknown factors at the present time and would depend on stipulation in the lease or sales agreement, but that the Board of Selectmen has always placed protective restrictions and -4- covenants in deeds for conveyance of any public land Edward Bicknell referenced information given at the Follen Church meet- ing He asked for a general conceptual drawing of what is being planned for landscaping and access in the area to be conveyed to be presented at an open meeting of the planners and the neighbors William Spencer noted that the Board has a committment to support Town Meeting regarding efforts to meet the housing quota. He felt that housing was one of the obvious options for consideration James Barry restated his preference for continued Waldorf School use but suggested conversion to an East Lexington Recreation Facility, includ- ing a swimming pool, as another possible use Margaret McDonald asked for information on the processes used in narrow- ing down of the 11 proposals submitted and for reasons why the school use was rejected in favor of housing Mr Crain replied that the Town Meeting mandate in favor of housing carried great weight in the decision process but, because the process was an open one, input showed the need to reconsider The two housing proposals were not viable and were shown to have problems Mrs McDonald felt that if the Adams School article had gone to Town Meeting, and the vote of Town Meeting rejected housing use, consideration of housing in the new committee process could be eliminated. Mr Crain responded that after decision by the Board of Selectmen in opposition to the housing alternatives, it would have been inappropriate to bring the matter to Town Meeting Ruth Wathen-Dunn said she regretted that low/moderate income housing, with some provision for community based living, and under Town control, had not been possible for the Adams School building Mary Shunney felt that the Fair Housing Resolution adopted by Town Meeting has an intimidating effect regarding any other uses of the Adams School The views of the residents of East Lexington should be seriously taken into consideration Mr Crain responded that although he has a strong personal committment to housing, the Board has learned from the previous process It should not be presumed that the Board has a predisposition to any use Weiant Wathen-Dunn asked if criteria have been formulated to .determine whether the Waldorf School in in a financial position to carry its own weight He also asked if the property is leased for use other than school use, who would be responsible for conversion costs He felt there would be some financial difficulty in paying a huge amount for conversion, recovering this money over a period of time and wondered whether this would be possible within a reasonable period Mr Crain replied that since the school committee turned the property over to the Town to reduce the number of schools and save money, it would111 be inconsistent to bring a proposal to Town Meeting which would cost the Town money Selectmen's Meeting -5 May 5, 1981 Mr Wathen-Dunn asked if, in the case of sale, maximum sale price would be of highest importance in the selection process Mr Crain replied that that had not been a major priority in the pre- vious school conversions Barry Sampson asked about current Adams School costs to the Town per month Mr Hutchinson responded that the $1,000 a month rent is covering costs at this time, but future expenses for maintenence and eventually a new roof will be necessary A considerable amount was spent to prepare the build- ing for occupancy ($5,000+) but since that time very little or nothing has been expended Waldorf School is paying for basic maintenance such as heat- ing He noted that the $1,000 per month rental is below fair market value for the property, even for a non-profit organization Judith Totman recalled that the Board had seemed at first reluctant to consider leasing as an option and asked if there had been further discussion of that alternative She requested individual views of members on the gener- al subject of leasing Mr Politi would not oppose long-term leasing if he was convinced that it was the most viable alternative or option available Mrs. Miley is more open to leasing than previously In the past, the possi- bility of tenants unable to carry costs of leased buildings, leading to boarded-up, unused schools, made leasing less favorable in her view Now, in the light of Propositiion 21, she sees leasing as a more viable option James Barry, in support of leasing, noted that if in future, the need for additional schools arose, the Town would still have title to the site Robert Blouin opposed housing use because it would incur need for more Town services Any revenue gain would be lost and would contradict the emphasis on saving under Proposition 2 1. Stanley Marshman asked if the residents would be given a chance to state second choices for use if the Waldorf School use is not allowed to continue He gave his second choice as low impact business Julian Bussgang asked if the congregate housing proposal for Adams School was rejected because of possible financial problems or because it did not meet the goals of the Town Mr Hutchinson said that it was his personal view that because the congregate housing proposed was in the "luxury" category, it did not help in meeting the goals set for increase in low/moderate income housing stock Mr Hutchinson responded to a request by Mrs Miley to outline the selection process used by the School Sites Conversion Committee as follows proposals received were independently reviewed by each member and the pro- posals were then ranked by the Committee on a priority basis The proposals were narrowed to two or three, including the Waldorf School These recom- mendations were then taken to the Board of Selectmen where the decision was made for housing. Robert McCauley stated his opinion that a matrix and constraints should be developed prior to submission of proposals, and that the entire process should be made public i -6- Mr Crain defined "Matrix" as used in this context, as being a graphic display of the various points presented by the various developers after the proposals are submitted and reviewed. It is not a matrix prepared to guide developer/candidates Mr Hutchinson explained the need for executive sessions at a certain point in the process to protect the competing candidates and their propos- als, and said that the matrix developed and votes cast can be made public at this time. Carol Fredette asked for criteria used in the selection and appointment by the Selectmen of members of the School Sites Conversion Committee Mr Crain replied that the Committee would be comprised of a member of the Board of Selectmen acting as chairman, the Town Manager, a neighborhood representative, and various others whom it was felt could make contributions, consistent with the parameters established, that would be useful to the Committee Robert Blouin requested that if the ultimate decision on use is an office building, restrictions be made to ensure office use only and that transient uses such as restaurants be not allowed Patricia Swanson thanked the Board for having the meeting and the oppor- tunity for input Mary Shunney referred to the congregate housing proposal made and stated the need for future consideration of congregate housing proposals Mr Crain assured those present that the record of the meeting will be reviewed by the three Selectmen present as well as those who could not attend and that serious consideration will be given to input received Upon a motion duly made and seconded, it was voted to adjourn at 9 07 P.M A true record, Attest 41 s 9(/ P incipal Clerk I