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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1982-03-03-ASCC-min.pdf Adams School Conversion Committee Minutes of the Meeting of March 3, 1982 Present James Crain, Lillian MacArthur, Betty Levine, Larry Kernan, Mary Lou Touart, Frank Fuery, Anna Currin, Laura Fisher; also Marion Snow A Public Information Meeting on the use the Adams School property was opened at 8 00 P.M by the Chairman, Mr Crain Approximately 60 persons attended the meeting Mr Crain told the audience that a meeting had been held the previous eyeing for the purpose of presentation to the Committee of the proposals of The Waldorf School and Community Development Partnership He gave the procedures for tonight's meeting at which, it was hoped, the Committee would gain input from those in attendance Steven Levy described the proposal for purchase and continued use of the Adams School building and lease of the 1I a. site by The Waldorf School, as presented to the Comr mittee at the March 2nd meeting Mr Crain asked for questions from the audience Question was raised as to Mr Levy's offer of outside use of the auditorium and whether it would be rented to out of Town groups Mr Levy said the intention was that the hall would be available for occasional community events Weiant Wathen-Dunn asked if the building is assessed at $160,000, why the projected tax payment would not be less than $16,00/year as stated He was told that the building and land had been assessed at $810,000, fair market value Jim 'Barry asked if local young people, as well as Waldorf School students, would have continued use of the playground Mr Levy responded that it was understood that Waldorf students, as well as all others in Lexington, would have use of the grounds In response to Mr Clarke's question on the yearly rental payment of $7,500 for lease of the land, Mr Levy said there will be a review every five years and that payment would be adjusted accordingly A resident brought up the matter of impact of increased traffic in the area if 250 stu- dents are enrolled in future Mr Levy said that there are now 160 students, some of whom car pool, which seems to cause no problem He foresees no problems in the future regarding traffic. Mr Levy was asked if use by residents of the parking area on weekends would be curtailed Mr Levy said 10 - 12 spaces would be available at all times Comptroller Perry's report on Waldorf School cash flow and reserve was referred to and Mr Levy was asked if increased tax payments to the Town would necessitate tuition in- creases Mr Levy said that a portion of the reserve (interest) would be allocated for that purpose There were no further questions on the Waldorf School proposal The proposal for residential use of the Community Development Partnership, as presented to the Committee on the previous evening, was described by Tadhg Sweeney of Donham & Sweeney, Architects 30 rental units for persons over age 62 are proposed Mr Crain asked for questions from the audience Jim Barry question the number of cars for residents projected at 10, and how residents -2 could shop, since no grocery stores are nearby Mr Sweeney noted the presence of LEXPRESS, MSTA, and said that there would be a full time manager on the premises to aid residents when necessary Homemaker care, health aid, and service of 1 meal a day would be available if desired Mr Barry referred to the payment over 20 years of $360,000, and asked if no interest would be paid to the Town on the outstanding amount Mr Sweeney said the $18,000 offered in conjunction with the subsidized units, represented payment of interest In response to a question from a resident as to how the proposal would improve the qual- ity of life in East Lexington, Mr Sweeney said that there is no other facility in Town to answer the needs of older people who wished to sell their homes and still remain in Lexington He also mentioned use in the development as a senior drop in center When asked if Lexington residents would have first priority for rentals, Mr Sweeney referred to statutes prohibiting discrimination against out of town applicants He was asked if the low/moderate income units would be open to people younger than 62, and responded that they would if the Housing Authority could not place elderly in them The rent structure was given as follows at the present time, 1 b r units would cost $770/month By July, 1983, 1 b r units will be $900/month, 2 b r will be $1,125/ month This will include utilities, managements fees, but not meals, homecare, maid, or medical services He compared other such facilities in Bedford and Woburn which offer care-for-life and charge entrance fees as well as monthly rent payments Mr Sweeney said in response to question, that according to current plans, with no ex- pansion of parking area, only one tree will be removed There was discussion of continued parking use by parents of Youth Soccer players on week- ends for drop-off or for observing games from cars Mr Sweeney was asked about criteria for acceptance in the facility He said tenants would be elderly or elderly/frail, who need some assistance but not nursing home care There will be no cut-off for age Art Smith asked if anti-discrimination laws make acceptance of applications by person of any age, not just elderly, mandatory Mr. Sweeney said such tenant selection criteria is allowed by law { Adherence to specific plans submitted for Town Meeting approval was discussed Mr Sweeney said that a $5,000 performance bond would be retained by the Town and that the Special Per- mit for the project would specify elderly residential Art Smith asked about expansion of parking spaces on the grassy area near the Follen Church Mr Sweeney said that it was in the plans but that if the plan was objectionable to the Church, it could be worked out Mr Sweeney was asked what income would be necessary for payment of rents for the apart- ments and he said the usual formula is that the income should be 21 times the rent In response to a question, Mr Sweeney said the project renovation costs would be $1,700 000 Use of the dining area was discussed It would always be available for tenants' us or, with the permission of the tenants, for use by others The costs for meals would be $5 00 per meal for one or more persons The price could be less if there were more partakers Mr Sweeney was asked for his prior experience in such facilities He recapped his associations and experience The matter of future resale was brought up and what assurance the Town would have, in the case of resale, of maintenance as promised -3- Mr Sweeney said it was difficult to respond to the question at this time Art Smith felt that the $5,000 bond alone did not assure adherence to plans for elderly use only Mr Sweeney said that in addition to that bond, a Special Permit specifying elderly use must be granted by the Selectmen He said that in essence a two million dollare bond will be held by Lexington over the period of construction Two million is the amount estimated for renovation A resident asked if renovation costs are two million, will not the building be reassessed to that figure Mr Sweeney said the assessors took improvements into consideration when assessment was made Jim Barry asked if, any similar facility for elderly has a playground in such close prox- imity He agreed that tenants might enjoy watching children at play but doubted that the resultant noise could be tolerated Mr Sweeney said the walls will be insulated to aid in soundproofing, and the windows double glazed, resulting in a 65 to 75 decibal reduction of sound. As requested, Mr Sweeney again explained the details of the proposal for 20% of the units for low/moderate income housing. $18,000 will be allocated and go either to the Housing Authority as subsidy for 6 units, or to the Town. If the Housing Authority can- not obtain additional subsidy for the 6 units, the developer will provide full subsidy for 3 units A resident asked if the blacktopped area for the 10 parking spaces is now grassed Mr Sweeney said that that area for parking was exchanged for a now blacktopped area near the building which will be grassed to benefit the residents Mr Sweeney projected the following schedule for the project Special Permit, July '82, onstruction start, November '82, completion, August '83 In answer to a question about the choice of Adams instead of Muzzey School for his pro- posal, Mr Sweeney said Adams offered better possibilities for this type of development In further discussion of Sunday parking for non-tenants near the playing field, Mr Sweeney said that 10 spaces would be needed for tenants and 30 spaces should be avail- able If parking is expanded by 20 spaces, there would be 10 more spaces than now Question was raised about the adequacy of 10 spaces for tenants and their guests on weekends Mr Sweeney said the ration took both tenants and guests into consideration. Mrs Touart noted, regarding lack of shopping facilities without cars, that Wilson Farms is nearby A resident asked if inclusion of Adams in the Historic District is necessary for tax credit Mr Sweeney said not entirely, but it would be helpful Mr Crain asked for any additional input from those in attendance Mr Gubisch reviewed the two proposals to form comparisons regarding traffic generated, access to playing field He felt more cars may be generated by the residential use and that Mr Sweeney may have minimized this aspect He thought the living costs were not in line as compared with the Dana Home and noted complicated financing plans He felt that revenue to the Town would be greater with school use and that the problems to the Town would be fewer Don Wilson noted that the Sweeney proposal would be for housing for frail and well, while L.H.A. tenants must be well Jim Barry felt the Sweeney proposal to be incompatible with the area He said that East Lexington needs to retain its play area -4- A resident said that any increase in traffic would be felt by all He is in favor of the school use Art Smith, Follen Church, favored the school use and said that Waldorf School has been a good neighbor and an ideal candidate If housing use is chosen, the Church would favor low/moderate income housing A resident noted that in case of future Town need to again use the property for a school, the Waldorf proposal would give more flexibility The Committee was complimented by a resident on its selection of the two proposals He favors the school use as a known factor Mr Crain asked for the deliberations of the Committee Larry Kernan distributed and reviewed a document prepared by him entitled "Cash Flow Evaluation for Adams School Conversion Committee" dated March 3, 1982, and compared financial aspects of both proposals Mr Fuery voiced recommendations in favor of the Waldorf School He said the School has been operating there for two years, is wanted by the neighbors, and represents a reasonable financial deal He feels the housing proposal has not guarantees, is depen- dent upon too many "iffy" financial transactions ahead and uncertainties of L.H.A. direction Mrs Touart recommended continued use of the Waldorf School She sees the need for con- gregate housing in Lexington, but because of neighborhood feelings and possible future need by the Town for the school, she favored the school proposal Mrs Fisher asked, if after the 20-year lease on the land has expired, the Town wants to buy back the school, would the improvemetns to the building escalate the price beyond what would be affordable She asked a guarantee to limit the resale price back { to the Town Mr Crain noted that the Waldorf School would also need built in parameters for its protection These aspects would be taken care of later in the procedures Mrs MacArthur said she found the housing proposal very interesting, but felt undecided at that time Mrs Currin favored the housing proposal because of the real need for elderly housing Mrs Levine said she sees advantages to both proposals but questioned where elders can live in Town. She favored the housing proposal Mr Fuery noted the encroachment of commercial operations in the East Lexington community, including expansion in the Curve Street area, has made the area fragile He saw little chance of Town Meeting approval of the housing proposal The Chairman called for a motion on the recommendations of the Committee Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was voted 5 - 2 to recommend to the Board of Select- men that the proposal for use of the Adams School by the Waldorf School be accepted Mrs Fisher asked assurance regarding the purchase price in the case of resale to the Town. A motion was made by Mrs Currin that both the by Mrs Currin that both the Waldorf School and the Community Development Partnership proposals be sent to the Selectmen Mrs Levine seconded the motion The motion did not carry The vote was 4 - 3 -5- a Mr Crain annouced that the Board of Selectmen will hear the recommendations of both the Adams School Conversion Committee and the'Muzzey School Conversion Commit- tee at its March 8 meeting The meeting was adjourned at 10 25 P.M Respectfully subm'tted, M rion H Snow Ji