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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-11-10-CPC-min Community Preservation Committee Legion Room Wednesday, November 10, 2008 4:00 pm Present: Betsey Weiss, Chair; Marilyn Fenollosa, Vice Chair; Joel Adler, Jeanne Krieger, Wendy Manz, Leo McSweeney, Nathalie Rice, (Admin. Asst.); Sandy Shaw, Dick Wolk. David Kanter, CEC Liaison was also present. Absent: Norman Cohen. The meeting was called to order at 4:03 pm. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss an increase in the planning budget for the Goodwin parcels, possible reductions in costs associated with the Harrington Playground project, and policy changes for Fall Town Meeting projects. 1. Increased Conservation Request for Goodwin Parcels Dick Wolk spoke to this matter, explaining that the total for the legal, survey and appraisal work was estimated at $46,100. This was significantly higher than had been anticipated, particularly the survey costs. He said the deeds for the parcels were quite vague, and that Town Counsel recommended that a survey be done to protect the Town interests. Town Counsel’s initial research showed that there had been no title or deed research done for the parcels in recent history. The Committee discussed the increased fees, and noted that the increase was almost a third of the cost of the parcels themselves, which seemed quite out of scale. There was also discussion about the fact that the parcels were primarily surrounded by Town land, such as the Composting Facility, and the Pine Meadows golf course. Sandy Shaw expressed her concern about the need for the survey and Marlilyn Fenollosa questioned whether the Commission could split the costs of the survey with the landowner. In this case, Jeanne Krieger replied, that would not be possible. A suggestion was made to seek another bid from a second survey company. There was general frustration with the change in costs so late in the CPC review process. The Committee voted 5 to 2 to approve an increase of $46,100 for legal, appraisal and survey costs for the purchase of the Goodwin parcels. Joel Adler and Marilyn Fenollosa were the opposing votes. The increase in the request brings the total for the purchase of the Goodwin parcels to $186,100. 2. Harrington Playground – Supplemental Request The Committee discussed the supplemental funding request of $35,135 for completion of the Harrington Playground in its new location. There was some discussion of the contingency fee for the project. David Kanter informed the Committee that CEC had last minute numbers for the project, which showed a possible cost saving of several thousand dollars. The members agreed that they would rather fund the project at its requested amount, than to have Mr. Goddard and the Lexington Children’s Place come back for additional funds at Spring Town Meeting. The Committee voted 6 to 1 to approve the proposal for the Harrington Playground. Dick Wolk voted in opposition. 3. Fall Town Meeting Policy Betsey Weiss opened this discussion and expressed her frustration with the inadequacy of information in the projects submitted this fall. She said it had been very difficult to evaluate the two projects for Town Meeting, when cost requests kept changing. This, in addition to reviewing the 15 projects for Spring Town Meeting, made the work of the Chair and Vice Chair very difficult. She suggested that if the Committee felt there were worthy projects for Fall Town Meetings, that there be a Fall Town Meeting Chair. Alternatively, she suggested that the Committee member with an interest in a particular project take on the Chairmanship for the Fall Town Meeting. Without such assistance, she felt the Committee should deny funding requests for any Fall or Special Town Meetings. There was a general discussion of this idea, but no decisions were made on this matter. 4. Needs Assessment Report The Chairwoman asked if there were any comments on the Needs Assessment Report. Sandy Shaw said she had made one small change, but otherwise had no comments. The Committee voted unanimously to accept the report. 5. Beacon Hill Resolution HB4820 Betsey Weiss asked for volunteers to draft letters to state representatives regarding HB 4820, a resolution which would help insure the future of CPC state matching funds. Wendy Manz agreed to write these letters. The Committee noted that the resolution will also have to be included in the Warrant for Spring Town Meeting, which Jeanne Krieger agreed to research. 6. Approval of Minutes ththth Minutes from the meetings of June 5, June 9 and October 16 were approved as written. The meeting was adjourned at 5:25 pm. Respectfully submitted, Nathalie Rice Administrative Assistant Community Preservation Community