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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-10-26-CPC-min Community Preservation Committee Monday, October 26, 2009 Room G-15, Town Offices 4:00 pm Present: Betsey Weiss, Chair; Joel Adler, Norman Cohen, Jeanne Krieger, Wendy Manz, Leo McSweeney, Nathalie Rice, Admin. Asst.; Sandy Shaw, and Dick Wolk. Mr. David Kanter of the Capital Expenditures Committee and Mr. John Bartenstein of the Appropriation Committee were in attendance as well as Mr. Rob Addelson, Assistant Town Manager for Finance. Absent: Marilyn Fenollosa Ms. Weiss called the meeting to order at 4:05 pm. The purpose of the meeting was to address financial planning issues as the Committee headed into the FY 2011 planning cycle. The Committee also wished to discuss policies th on bonding and debt in preparation for a November 12 meeting of the CPC, Appropriation Committee, Capital Expenditures Committee, and Selectmen. Further, the CPC briefly discussed the seventeen capital projects received from the Finance Department. 1.Budget Discussion with Rob Addelson – Mr. Addelson, Assistant Town Manager for Finance, presented the CPC with an in depth financial planning model that can be used annually to determine revenue streams and assess the impact of proposed projects. Mr. Addelson explained that there is presently approximately $4,086,979 in projected revenue for FY 2011. With the balances in the three “buckets”, the Unbudgeted Reserve and the Undesignated Fund Balance, the total funds available for FY 2011 is approximately $10,168,580. Mr. Addelson also discussed the impact of bonding and its associated debt service and showed the Committee various debt service scenarios and their impact on the five year planning horizon the model was designed to accommodate. 2.Upcoming November 12th Finance Meeting – The Committee discussed various policy options related to bonding and debt service. Ms. Kreiger explained that a hard and fast policy was hard to imagine, since each appropriation is different. She felt it was in the best interest of the Committee to be as flexible as possible. Mr. Kanter said he recognized that the Committee could not commit to inflexible policies, but suggested that there might be general guidelines that the Committee might wish to adopt. He offered ideas which they might wish to look at such as (1) whether they support long term obligations, that would “lock” the Town into debt 1 payments, in essence “mortgaging the Town’s future” and (2) whether to establish a bottom balance in the Undesignated Fund Balance in order to prepare for uncertainties such as Special Town Meetings. The Committee briefly discussed these ideas, and Ms. Manz added that a further metric in the decision making process might be the rates at the time of the anticipated bonding. 3.Review of Capital Projects – The Committee reviewed seventeen capital projects, which had been received from the Finance Department. They included the following: a. Undesignated Land Acquisition TBD b. Cary Library Preservation Project $10,000 c. Police Station Renovation Design and Eng. TBD d. Building Envelope Project $69,000 e. Muzzey Senior Center Improvements $45,100 f. Cary Hall and TOB HVAC Work $35,000 g. Police Station Ventilation System $29,700 h. White House – Comprehensive Assessment $25,000 i. Stone Building Stabilization $200,000 j. Town Office Building Renovation $1,642,000 k. Cary Memorial Hall Venue Improvements $30,000 l. Minuteman Bikeway Preservation $320,000 m. Stormwater Mitigation, Marrett Road/Old Res. $190,047 n. Center Playfields Drainage $875,173 o. Cotton Farm Land Acquisition TBD p. Archives and Records Management $150,000 q. Cary Hall Signage $19,000 There was considerable discussion about the land acquisition projects, and Ms. Weiss questioned whether a Land Acquisition Committee had been formed for the proposed acquisitions. Mr. Cohen responded that the acquisition in question, the Cotton Farm, (Cataldo) in all likelihood would only be sold to the Town under the condition that it be used for conservation land. A lengthy discussion ensued in which the Committee discussed varying perspectives on the value of a Land Acquisition Committee. Ms. Weiss and Ms. Manz made the point that in the Leary acquisition process, the values of affordable housing and historic preservation were initially bypassed. They stressed the need for a broad-based approach when the Town anticipates land acquisitions. Conversely, Mr. Wolk expressed his opinion that the Conservation Commission was the appropriate board to initiate land acquisition negotiations. 2 There was a general discussion of the remainder of the projects, with members commenting on time schedules, the scope of certain projects and questions that they might address when the applicants came in for their interviews. 4.Comprehensive Cultural Resources Study – Ms. Weiss explained that the Historical Commission had submitted a request to the CPC to expand work under their existing Cultural Resources Study to include historic neighborhoods. She said Ms. Fenollosa had asked Ms. Weiss to bring this matter before the Committee, since the Historical Commission had a th November 15 deadline for a grant application. The Historical Commission wishes to use $10,000 in contingency funds (part of a previous CPA allocation for the Cultural Resources Study) to apply for a Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) matching grant of $15,000. In this manner, the Historical Commission could leverage their remaining funds and use the $25,000 for describing and recording additional historic neighborhoods in Town. The Cultural Resources Study had focused on individual houses and neighborhoods, but this opportunity would give the Commission the chance to expand its investigation and documentation. The issue before the CPC was whether to allow the Historical Commission to use $10,000 in contingency funds for a related, but expanded scope of work. It was the consensus of the Committee that the Historical Commission should be allowed to use the $10,000 for the grant application. The Committee voted to support using the $10,000 presently in the Cultural Resources Study budget to apply for the MHC grant, and requested a written submittal from the Historical Commission, which they authorized the Chair to review on behalf of the Committee. 5.Liaison Responsibilities – Ms. Weiss reminded Committee members that when they return to their Committees (if they are representatives from Town Boards), they should update their Committees on the issues before the CPC. 6Bookkeeping Issues – The CPC set aside six meetings for interviews with project applicants. It appears that the Committee will have 21-22 projects to th review. The Committee also set its Public Hearing date for December 17 at 6:30 pm, when all applicants will present their projects to the Town. The meeting was adjourned at 5:40 pm. Respectfully submitted, Nathalie Rice Administrative Assistant Community Preservation Committee 3