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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-04-12-CPC-min Minutes of the Community Preservation Committee Monday, April 12, 2010 Room 207, Town Offices Building 3:00 pm Present: Betsey Weiss, Chair; Joel Adler, Norman Cohen, Marilyn Fenollosa, Vice Chair; Jeanne Krieger, Wendy Manz, Leo McSweeney, Nathalie Rice, Admin. Asst., Sandy Shaw, and Dick Wolk. Selectmen Deb Mauger and Peter Kelley, and Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC) members, Ted Edson, David Kanter and Shirley Stolz were in attendance. Karen Simmons, Director of Community Development, Aaron Henry of the Planning Department, Todd Cataldo (owner of the Cotton Farm property) and his counsel, Bill Dailey, were also present. Ms. Weiss called the meeting to order at 3:08 pm. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the Cotton Farm Land Acquisition (Article 9) and to discuss the Town Office Renovation Project (Article 8 [l]). 1.Discussion of the Cotton Farm Land Acquisition - Article 9 - Ms. Weiss opened the meeting with a discussion of a letter from an abutter to the Cataldo parcel, Nicholas and Beatrice Pappas. The Pappases wrote the CPC and the Planning Board offering their house for sale to the Town. The CPC discussed the letter and suggested that Ms. Rice write the Pappases explaining the process of applying for CPC funding, and stating that the Committee was not interested in the parcel at this time. Ms. Weiss then opened discussion on the Cotton Farm land acquisition, sharing a chart with the Committee which listed the four appraisals for the Cataldo property and their associated values and price per acre. The price per acre ranged from $570,312 in March of 2008 to $880,952 in the most recent appraisal dated April 5, 2010. Committee members discussed the variations in the appraisals, and questioned whether the CPC could recommend an appropriation for more than the appraised price. The most recent appraisal, requested by the CPC valued the parcel at $3.7 million dollars, $100,000 lower than the negotiated price. Selectman Peter Kelley noted that he had been told by Town Counsel, that the variation in appraisals would not be a problem. Various members commented on the importance of acquiring the parcel for its open space and historic values, while others were concerned with the high price per acre. Ms. Manz questioned whether there was any room for further negotiation to bring the purchase price down. Ms. Shaw added that the proposal must be evaluated in light of the other projects presently before the CPC, as well as those anticipated in the future. 1 Mr. Bill Dailey, Todd Cataldo’s counsel, made a lengthy statement regarding the open space and neighborhood values of the land and stated his opinion that it was an exceptional piece of property. The CPC will return to vote on this project once the full copy of the appraisal is available. 2.Discussion of the Town Office Building Renovation Project - Article 8(l) - Ms. Weiss raised the possibility of a video being shown at Town Meeting highlighting the difficulty of accessing the Town Office Building by wheelchair. Mr. Cohen said Susan Cusack of the Commission on Disability made a very compelling presentation to the Selectmen on the need for accessibility to the building. Mr. Adler noted that he had never mentioned that he was against ADA upgrades. Ms. Weiss pointed out that the project before the CPC had started as a renovation project, and had now become primarily an ADA proposal. Ms. Weiss then raised the issue of proposals that come before the CPC for “study monies”. She said she felt that a study is voted to get an estimate for a particular project, but does not obligate the CPC to later fund that project. Mr. Wolk said he agreed with this sentiment. Ms. Shaw raised the issue of the CPC vote on the Town Office Building Renovation, noting that in her opinion the vote, “did not make sense”. She said she felt she did not know exactly what the $1.5 million dollars the CPC authorized represented. This prompted a long discussion of the Town Office Building project, with several members noting their discomfort with the previous vote of $1.5 million. Ms. Krieger argued that the project was worthy of funding as previously voted, while Ms. Weiss and Ms. Manz voiced their concerns about the project. Ms. Weiss noted that she would have preferred to have passed only the ADA and code work (the 65% of project cost figure of $1,185,523). Mr. Kanter noted that if the project were to return to Town Meeting with a different scope necessitated by a lower appropriation, the CPC should request a redesign of the project. He stressed that the CPC must know how CPA funds are being spent. After a lengthy discussion, Ms. Weiss asked if the Committee would like to reconsider their previous vote for $1.5 million in funding for the project. Ms. Shaw moved to take a revote on the decision to fund $1.5 million of the Town Office Renovation project. Ms. Manz seconded the vote, and the motion passed 5-4. There was a relatively brief discussion, following which Ms. Manz made a motion, stating, “that in light of upcoming CPA expenditures in the future, the CPC allocate $1.2 million dollars to the Town Offices Building Project.” This motion was amended to the exact amount in the proposal from the design team, $1,185,523. A vote was taken on this motion, which passed 5-4. Ms. Fenollosa asked that the record show that she and the CPC were not against accessibility for the handicapped. There was limited discussion about the impact of this second vote, and whether a new project would come back to the CPC at a future time. 2 The meeting was adjourned at 4:35 pm. Respectfully submitted, Nathalie Rice, Administrative Assistant Community Preservation Committee 3