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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-11-05-CPC-min Community Preservation Committee Thursday, November 5, 2009 Room G-15, Town Offices 4:00 pm Present: Betsey Weiss, Chair; Joel Adler, Norman Cohen, Marilyn Fenollosa, Jeanne Krieger, Wendy Manz, Nathalie Rice, Admin. Asst; Leo McSweeney, Sandy Shaw and Dick Wolk. Mr. David Kanter of the Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) was also in attendance. Ms. Weiss called the meeting to order at 4:05 pm. The purpose of the meeting was to hear presentations from three applicants for CPA funding. 1.Archives and Records Management/Records Conservation and Preservation – Ms. Donna Hooper .Ms. Donna Hooper, Town Clerk, and Ms. Nasrin Rhani, Archivist, were present to describe the project which sought $150,000 in CPA funds for records management and conservation. Ms. Hooper explained the progress of the project to date, summarizing the work over the past three years. She said the remainder of the FY 2009 appropriation and all of the FY2010 appropriation will be used in the upcoming fiscal year. The funds that would be appropriated for FY 2011 will be used primarily for digitization. She said a large number of records from the Assessor’s files (some of which date back to the 1700’s) will be conserved in FY 2011. In response to a question from Mr. Adler, Ms. Hooper explained that all of the work undertaken in her 5-year Records Conservation project involves work required by the state for document preservation. Ms. Rohani also pointed out that by law, the Town cannot dispose of any documents dated prior to 1870. 2.Cary Library Preservation Project – Ms. Connie Rawson .This project sought $10,000 in funding to complete the design work for a fire-proof, climate controlled vault for the Library. Ms. Rawson updated the Committee on the history of the Library addition which was undertaken in 2004, and explained that the vault, originally planned for the addition, had been eliminated due to budget constraints. She said that the vault was very much needed, and that records and photographs are presently stored in inadequate conditions. She explained that the vault would be constructed in an existing storage room. In response to questions from the Committee and Mr. Kanter of the CEC, Ms. Rawson said the estimated cost of the new vault would be in the range of 1 $70,000. The Committee suggested that it might be more cost effective to tie the design work with the construction, and complete the project in one fiscal year, rather than two. Ms. Rawson said she would welcome being able to complete the project in one fiscal year, and will speak with Mr. Goddard and submit revised numbers to the Committee. th 3.Fiscal discussion in Preparation for November 12 Meeting with Finance Committees - The Committee discussed agenda items for their upcoming meeting with the Town Finance committees. Their discussion focused on; (1) bonding large appropriations, and (2) the need for general recommendations from the Finance Director, Rob Addelson, and the two finance committees to guide their decision making. 4. Stone Building Stabilization – Mr. Pat Goddard .The stabilization of the Stone Building, introduced by Mr. Goddard, Director of Facilities, sought $200,933 in CPA funds for the exterior preservation of the structure. Mr. Goddard explained that the FY 2010 appropriation of $271,660 had not been fully used, and that in order to make the project “cleaner”, he was planning to return the remaining $128,000 from FY 2010, and re-apply for FY 2011. He said the FY 2010 budget would be closed in December, and that the net of the requested FY 2011 appropriation would be $72,000. In response to a question from Mr. Kanter, Ms. Hooper, Town Clerk, explained that the Heritage Center Plan was expected in the next couple of months, well before Town Meeting. Upon release of the report, she said there would be a better understanding of the proposed use of the building. Mr. Kanter encouraged Mr. Goddard and Ms. Hooper to keep the CEC informed as their plans developed. 5.Cary Hall Venue Improvements, Design Study – Mr. Pat Goddard .Mr. Goddard introduced this project, and showed the Committee plans of Cary Hall from 1927. He explained that that the plans showed that several rooms now used for a variety of other purposes, had been initially designed for the support of performances. The proposed study, which requested $60,000 in CPA funding, would assess the following; the use of existing rooms and their effectiveness to benefit Cary Hall performances, the functionality of the stage area, the installation of handicapped bathrooms, lighting needs, and HVAC issues. Evaluation of these items would be undertaken in FY 2011, with funding sought for improvements in FY 2012 and FY 2013. The Committee discussed the need for a historical consultant who specializes in theatre venues in order to accurately determine the venue improvements needed in the building. The Committee was divided on this issue, and 2 suggested Mr. Goddard seek advice from Mendors, Torrey and Spencer, the historical consultants for the Stone Building. There was also a discussion of how this project differed from a previous project to improve Cary Hall as a performance center. This previous project had determined that there was limited cost benefit to making major improvements to Cary Hall to upgrade it for a performance center. Additionally, Mr. Kanter expressed his opinion that he would like to see details of the anticipated costs of improvements in FY 2012 and FY 2013, since this would influence his opinion on the need for the FY 2011 assessment project. 6.White House Assessment – Mr. Pat Goddard .Mr. Goddard explained that this project for $18,000 would help the Town decide if the White House was structurally able to be renovated. There was considerable debate about funding the project, with some members expressing the opinion that enough money had been spent to date on the structure. Mr. Kanter said he believed a decision should be made by the Town to support preservation of the building before additional funds were approved for appropriation. Ms. Fenollosa pointed out that the HDC would in all likelihood not approve demolition of the White House. She added that an Historic Structure Report (HSR) was necessary to properly determine its value it so that the Town could make an informed decision about the building. There were questions about the cost of the assessment, and Mr. Goddard explained he used the Stone Building HSR ($25,000) as a guideline. Mr. Goddard will walk the structure with consultants from Mendors, Torrey and Spencer and get a better estimate on the cost of the HSR. 7. The Meeting was adjourned at 5:45 pm. Respectfully submitted, Nathalie Rice Administrative Assistant Community Preservation Committee 3