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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1982-03-02-ASCC-min.pdf Adams School Conversion Committee Minutes of the Meeting of March 2, 1982 ° Present Lillian MacArthur, Jim Crain, Betty Levine, Larry Kernan, Mary Lou Touart, Frank Fuery, Anna Currin, also Bea Phear COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP Tadhg Sweeney presented the proposal of Community Development Partnership He said they are offering five benefits to Lexington with their proposal 1 A partial solution to the housing needs of older citizens who are not income eligible for state and federal programs 2 An annual payment exceeding $62,000 to the Town 3 A proposal that has a low traffic impact 4 A proposal that is of little nuisance to the neighborhood 5 The possibility of a neighborhood center, with space for community use He went over the plans, pointing out parking spaces for 40 cars, 30 for residents and 10 for visitors to the site, the library, and the recreation area He noted that there is a separate entrance for the neighborhood to the community facilities, to help prevent tenants from taking territorial priority from the neighborhood lunch and community productions In the ground floor there will be one handicap apartment, twc with two bedrooms, and seven one bedroom. There will also be health club facilities with a sauna The first floor will have the nutrition program, the main entrance with open ceiling, a lobby mailroom, kitchen arranged for heating catered meals, a back stage area, and the same apartment configuration. The second floor has added lounge space overlooking the community area, laundry, and { the same apartment configuration The entire building will be accessible withan elevator The tenants will have the health club facilities availab&to them free, and will be able to partake of the meals at cost Themotivation for not having this automatically part of the rent is to promote maintenance of independence He talked to John Paul Marosy of Minuteman Home Care Corporation regarding subsidized meals, and that is something that will still have to be worked out. Payments to Lexington can be either in the form of three totally subsidized units, six partially subsidized units or cash at $18,000 per year In addition they are offering $1 100 per year rental for the land, and expect to pay approximately $33,908 in annual taxes The tax figure was arrived at using Lexington's appraiser's preferred method of 121% net revenue Larry asked if the land lease figure was indexed or fixed Mr Sweeney said he had planned on it being fixed, howevet that could be discussed Larry asked what they anticipated happening at the end of the twenty years Mr. Sweeney said if it had been financed by a bank, they would like to hold it for the period of deductibility, and then sell as condominiums But as long as Lexington doesn't get into Adams March 2, 1982 page 2 rent control, he expects it will continue as rental units The partners are buying tax credits of between $700,000 and $850,000 as well as straight line depreciation They can't bail out for seven years, and the depreciation will make them stay involved for fifteen years • Frank asked about parking spaces for recreation Mr Sweeney said he has reduced the total number of spaces from 42 to 40; however, if there is a desire for more, and if the historic considerations allow it, another 20 could be added along the drive Betty also asked about parking for elderly visitors to the lunch program. Mr Sweeney said that in his experience in Orleans and Hyannis they provided 45 spaces for 100 people Parking is always a problem, but Lexington has good public transportation there and people can car pool Lillian addressed the question of rental fees, feeling that they were high, and the average person couldn't afford them Mr Sweeney said he had looked at existing rents in Lexington, which range from $550-$750 today, and they are projecting eighteen months in the future Also, other congregate sites are even more expensive, and there is a waiting list In addition, these rents include heat Jim asked if they planned to have an attendent on duty at all times They plan for a full time person, but not around the clock, as there is someone on duty all day, and access at night Also the building will be secure Jim asked how long it would take to assemble the financial commitments once they got their permit Mr Sweeney thought it would be within three or four months WALDORF SCHOOL Steven Levy said the main points of the Waldorf School proposal were 1 The offer of $160,000 for the building 2 Land lease at $7,500 per year 3 The decision to pay taxes as they are assessed. He asked about the Town's intentions at the end of the twenty years The Committee had no answer, and said it would be discussed with Town Counsel Mr Levy said they needed to know what the mechanisms were Jim asked about their reference to taxes, as they are exempt from taxes Paul O'Leary, the Waldorf attorney, said they would be prepared to make an annual payment of $16,000 Jim also asked about the reference to the Consumer Price Index, and what was the formula? They said it could be 100% of the CPI or a different percentage That woudl have to be worked out and is up for negotiation. Frank asked about the current lease and the right to use the playground Pat Brandes said they currently use the playground just like other Lexington residents, and they plan to continue that arrangement Jim asked about parking, when their school population reached maximum children and faculty Mr Levy said they have 24 faculty now, and there is no parking problem, and they don't anticipate adding to the faculty despite increasing enrollments Mr O'Leary reintroduced the issue of the end of the 20 years, saying he had several alternatives Adams; March 2, 1982 page 3 1 If the Town refused to extend the lease, then the Town would have to arrange to repurchase the building 2 The Town could select another buyer 3 If Waldorf desired to leave, it is presumed that the Town would have first option Wladorf representatives though it important the there be a mechanism in place, and that it be fair The developers then left the meeting Bea read from her notes of a conversation with Hayg Boyadjian, who was unable to attend He had said that either proposal was acceptable to him, and that he would also go along with a decision to send both. proposals to the Selectmen; haever, given the fact that he had not yet seen the second stage proposals, at this time, he would prefer the Waldorf, as he felt it important to retain the building as a school Jim pointed out that every pupil they draw from Lexington represents a savings to the School System. Betty felt that wasn't really the case, as it doesn't help on overhead, it merely inflates the per pupil costs Larry will work on a projection of the two financials regarding what the Town would get He will make some assumptions as follows 10% will be credited to Waldorf, as the money is up front He will assume indexed land lease at 7% He will assume escalation of taxes at 21/2% The meeting adjourned at 10.00 pm Respectfully submitted, Beatrice Phear