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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-11-24-CPC-min Community Preservation Committee Monday, November 24, 2008 Legion Room 2:00 pm Present: Betsey Weiss, Chair; Marilyn Fenollosa, Vice Chair; Joel Adler, Norman Cohen, Jeanne Krieger, Wendy Manz, Leo McSweeney, Nathalie Rice, Admin. Asst.; Sandy Shaw and Dick Wolk. David Kanter, CEC liaison was also present. The meeting was called to order at 2:07 pm. The purpose of the meeting was to review four projects before the CPC for FY 2010. These included Greeley Village roof replacement, Open Space planning for the Conservation Commission, the Police Station Needs Study, and the Munroe Tavern Historic Structure Report and Needs Study. 1.Greeley Village Roof Replacement - Steve Keane of the Lexington Housing Authority presented the Authority’s request for $320,828 for the replacement of roofs on 25 buildings at Greeley Village. (This represents 100 units of housing.) Mr. Keane explained that a 40 year shingle would be used which had a high efficiency rating. He said there has been some damage to the gutters and fascia over time, and that some repair work is needed. He is working on this aspect of the project with the DHCD . There was some discussion of the skylights, which the Committee felt might not be an eligible expense. In response to a question about other sources of funding, Mr. Keane told the Committee that the Authority receives $46,000 annually from the State, which is earmarked for asbestos removal and other projects. Ms. Weiss asked if the requested amount of $320,828 would be enough to cover the entire roofing job, to which Mr. Keane replied that it would. Mr. Keane updated the Committee on the progress of the FY 2009 project to replace windows at Greeley Village. He said they were about 40% complete with the project, and he anticipated the job would be finished in 2-3 weeks. At Vynebrook Village, he said an architect has been hired, and they are about 90% st done with the concept plan. He expects the job will go out to bid on January 1, with work expected to commence in the spring. 2.Executive Session –The Committeeconducted a roll call vote and voted unanimously to enter into Executive Session for the purposes of discussing CPC funding related to land acquisition. The Committee said it would return to Open Session to resume its public Meeting. The Committee returned to Open Session at 2:50 pm. 1 3.Police Station Space Needs Study – Police Captain Mark Corr presented this $45,000 request. Pat Goddard and Mark Barrett of Facilities were also in attendance. Mr. Corr opened the discussion by noting that there had been previous needs studies of the Police Station, and that the present request relied upon the information in these previous reports. He then outlined the areas of the Station that were inadequate. On the basement floor, he noted, the bathrooms were old, the locker rooms inadequate, and ADA requirements needed to be met. On the first floor, he explained the difficulties with the holding cell, and that access through the building was circuitous when a detainee was in the cell block. When bringing a detainee into the Station, he said the access is presently through the mechanics room and men’s locker room, which presents safety hazards. He added that the HVAC system needs to be upgraded on the first floor, since there are two different services that supply the building. On the second floor, he explained that there is no elevator, no ADA bathrooms, no vault storage for controlled substances, and an inadequate lab room. The police archives and an air conditioning unit are located in the same room, which creates problems for record storage. There was general agreement among Committee members that the Police Station was in need of renovation and that the present study was warranted. Discussion then turned to future work, which might be expected in FY 2011. Ms. Fenollosa questioned whether the renovations to the Station would be funded by the Town if the CPC was unable to approve the work. Ms. Kreiger said the project would be part of the Town budget if the CPC was unable to approve funding. 4.Munroe Tavern Historic Structures Report and Capital Needs Study – Susan Bennett of the Lexington Historical Society presented this request for $50,000. She explained that the visitation to the Munroe Tavern had increased significantly in the last year, in response to the inauguration of the Tavern as the “Museum of the British in Lexington”. Visits to the Tavern were up from 750 to 3,500 in the last year. She said the Historical Society has become aware of the drawbacks of the building in light of its increased use. These included: (1) an antiquated heating system, with no heat in the front section of the building, (2) a sprinkler system that dates to the 1920’s, (3) no ADA accessibility, (4) no public restrooms, and (5) no public meeting space or reception area. She added that some features in the building have been obscured over time and need to be “recaptured”. She said the needs study would identify the needs for the Tavern, similar to the Hancock-Clark needs study. Ms. Weiss asked if the Historical Society had applied for any state grants and informed her that the Town may be applying for state funding if the Stone 2 Building is renovated as a heritage center. Ms. Weiss asked if the scope of work would be smaller than Hancock-Clark, which was a $600,000 project. Ms. Bennett explained that the Historical Society had a capital campaign underway, and had reached 85% of its goal of $250,000. In response to a question about monies received from the weathervane, Ms. Bennett explained that endowments were down, and that the majority of the weathervane money was accounted for. Mr. Wolk suggested that the air conditioning upgrades might be eliminated with the idea of preserving historical accuracy. Ms. Bennett responded that the Tavern has period oil paintings and furniture that need proper care, and that personnel are dressed in period dress which gets very warm in the summer. Ms. Bennett updated the Committee on the progress of the Hancock-Clark House noting that the project was on budget, 85% complete, and due for completion by st. December 31 Ms. Fenollosa praised Ms. Bennett and the Historical Society for their work, and said that the increase in visitation at the Munroe Tavern was a testament to their great efforts. 5.Deadlines for the Application Process – Ms. Weiss spoke to the need for hard deadlines during the application process. Committee members assigned preliminary dates for application receipt and review, as well as Committee votes. These deadlines will be formalized and presented at the next meeting. 6.Project Assignments – In an effort to streamline the application process and the preparation for Annual Town Meeting, Ms. Weiss asked that each member take one or more individual projects and be responsible for being the representative for that project. The projects were distributed as follows: 1.Park Improvements/Athletic Fields – Ms. Shaw 2.Storm Water Mitigation at Old Reservoir/Marrett Road – Ms. Shaw 3.Pine Meadows Improvements - Ms. Shaw 4.Archives Records Management/Records Conservation – Ms. Manz 5.Cary Vault Climate Control Supplemental Funding – Ms. Manz 6.Town Office Building Renovation – Ms. Kreiger 7.Munroe Tavern Historical Structures Report/Capital Needs - Ms. Fenollosa 8.Police Station Space Needs Study – Mr. Adler 3 9.Greeley Village Roof Replacement – Mr. McSweeney 10.Land Acquisition by the Conservation Commission – Mr. Wolk 11.Stone Building Renovation – Ms. Fenollosa 12.Fire Headquarters Renovations and Redesign – Mr. Adler 13.LexHAB Purchase of Three Properties – Ms. Weiss 14. Administrative Budget – Ms. Weiss 7.Fall Town Meeting Wrap-up – Ms. Weiss reiterated the difficulties faced during the Fall Town Meeting process, and expressed her opinion and Marilyn, the Vice Chair expressed her opinion that, for the most part, requests for CPC monies should be delayed until Annual Town Meeting. Ms. Weiss said that the Chair and Vice- Chair should not be in charge of a Special Fall Town Meeting report and the work that it entails, at the same that the Annual Town Meeting projects are coming in and being scheduled. She suggested that a Special Town Meeting chair should be assigned when needed, or that the interested liaison member should act as chair. The Committee discussed these options and a motion was made “to adopt a schedule and policies for Application review, and that if a Special Town Meeting is anticipated, that the interested liaison member act as chair for the Meeting”. The motion was voted on and passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 3:58 pm. Respectfully submitted, Nathalie Rice Administrative Assistant Community Preservation Committee 4