HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-02-26-CPC-min
Community Preservation Committee
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Legion Room
4:00 pm
Present:
Betsey Weiss, Chair; Marilyn Fenollosa, Vice Chair; Joel Adler, Norman
Cohen, Jeanne Krieger, Wendy Manz, Leo McSweeney, Nathalie Rice, Admin. Asst.;
and Sandy Shaw. Dick Kanter and Charles Lamb of the CEC were also present.
Absent:
Dick Wolk
The meeting was called to order at 4:04 pm.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the projects before the CPC which have not
yet been finalized. This included the Center Fields Project, the acquisition of open space,
and the Stone Building.
1.Stone Building Update –
Ms. Fenollosa updated the Committee on the progress
the Stone Building project, stating that the Library had met with the Permanent
Building Committee and that the Historical Commission had subsequently met
with Pat Goddard of Facilities. She said there was still some disagreement about
how much funding was needed for the building, but that there was general
agreement that a Historic Structures report was the proper place to start. She said
the Report would probably take $30-40,000 to complete, and that another $5-
6,000 might be needed to assess the condition of the building. She said beyond
this initial phase of the project, the remainder of the requested $180,000 could be
used to stabilize the building. The stabilization might include work on the walls
and roof, or removing the aluminum siding on the building and putting on new
clapboards. She said the information in the HSR would be helpful in deciding
how to move forward, but that the two processes could conceivably be carried on
concurrently. Ms. Fenollosa added that Ms. Hooper, Town Clerk was heading a
Committee for the Heritage Center and that in addition to deciding on how best to
proceed, the Committee would also be to developing a plan to make the Center
self-supporting in the long term.
Ms. Krieger expressed her opinion that approval for the renovations to the Stone
Building would still have to go through the Library Trustees, and that it would be
a Trustee issue as to how to proceed. She was concerned that the CPC had voted
on a $180,000 project for design and schematics, which in the absence of Trustee
review had evolved potentially into a construction project.
2.Center Playfields Project –
Dave Pinsonneault, Superintendent of Public
Grounds met with the Committee to update them on the Center Fields Project. He
distributed a summary of Tutela Engineering’s findings on the existing drainage
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conditions at the Playfields complex. He explained that there are a number of
issues at the fields, not the least of which is the fact that Vine Brook flows in a
culvert under the fields. This, in addition to low lying topography, poor soils, and
past undocumented repair work on the drainage system, makes the current project
quite complex. He said he would have to meet with Ms. Simmons of Recreation
before informing the CPC of a final funding request. He said he was uncertain
whether they would be seeking additional design funds, or potentially some
construction monies. Under either scenario, he said the request to the CPC would
not exceed the original $100,000 amount. In response to a question from Mr.
McSweeney, he assured the Committee that he would be seeking the help of the
Town’s Engineering Department on the project. He added that Tutela was
adequate to assess the problem, but was not necessarily a “field restoration”
company, and that he would be researching field restoration companies if they
moved forward with any plans for construction.
3.Conservation Acquisition –
Ms. Mullins updated the Committee on the progress
of the Leary Property Acquisition. She said the Conservation Commission has a
verbal agreement with representatives of the Leary Estate, and that the signing of
a Letter of Intent is near. She said the appraisal came in at $2,692,00 and that
there would be additional costs on top of that for legal, appraisal, survey and 21E
work.
She said the greater part of the lot would be devoted to conservation purposes,
and that LexHAB might do a limited development off the Vine Street frontage.
She said the Conservation Commission had been discussing this possibility with
Bill Hays of LexHAB, and Maryann McCall-Taylor, Town Planning Director.
She said the Conservation Commission is interested in preserving the back section
of the property and the lots off Brookwood Road. Discussions of affordable
housing, she noted, had focused on one lot off Vine Street, which Mr. Hayes had
suggested could support a duplex.
The update by Ms. Mullins prompted a larger discussion of the possibilities for
affordable housing on the property. Ms. Fenollosa reminded those at the meeting
that the Leary house is an historic house, dating back to the 1840’s. She
suggested that there might be some potential for restoring it for affordable
housing and noted that this would enable the CPC to do a three-way split of the
funding between, historic, housing and conservation “buckets”.
There was considerable discussion of the possibilities for affordable housing, in
what, to date, had been only a conservation acquisition. Ms. Weiss stressed the
need to have a meeting of the CPC, Conservation Commission and the
appropriate housing groups, to better assess the problem. There was also a
preliminary discussion about the wording of the motion, as it related to the two
and possibly three “buckets” for CPC funding. Mr. Cohen will address this issue
as the project becomes better defined.
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4.Updates
– There were various updates, including those regarding the costs for the
Munroe School Fire Prevention system which Ms. Weiss reported had come in
lower than expected. She also noted that the Selectmen had signed the paperwork
for the Parker Manor condominium units purchased with CPA funding, and that
the units would qualify as low and moderate-income. Ms. Weiss requested
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volunteers for the bus trip on March 15 sponsored by the TMMA.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:30 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Nathalie Rice
Administrative Assistant
Community Preservation Committee
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