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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-04-20-CPC-min Minutes of the Community Preservation Committee Tuesday, April 20, 2010 3:00 pm Room 207 Town Offices 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. Also in attendance were Mr. David Kanter and Ms. Shirley Stolz of the Capital Expenditures Committee, Selectmen Mr. Peter Kelley, Finance Director, Mr. Rob Addleson Mr. Charles Hornig, Ms. Ingrid Klimoff, Ms. Kay Tiffany, and Mr. Todd Cataldo, owner of the Cotton Farm. Ms. Weiss called the meeting to order at 3:05 pm. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the proposed Cotton Farm Land Acquisition, and to receive an expanded project description of the Town Offices Building Project. 1.Cotton Farm Land Acquisition – Ms. Weiss opened the meeting, and recognized Mr. Charles Hornig, who was in attendance as a private citizen, (not as a Planning Board member) to discuss the valuation on the Cotton Farm property. Mr. Hornig stated that he supported preservation of the parcel, but not at the cost of $3.8 million dollars, the negotiated price for the sale. He said he had issues with the per lot value of $880,952 and with the section of one of the appraisals which assumed that the lots would sell within 18 months. This time frame seemed particularly short, especially when built by a developer/owner, he noted. He said it would be more customary to see the lots sell over a 3-year period, which might decrease the value of the land by some $500,000. Mr. Hornig also discussed the restrictions on the number of houses on the back land and its impact on the total development of the property. He added that he felt this was the last piece of land the Town would buy, but questioned, “at what price”. As he calculated, what the Town was “taking away” from the owner was approximately 2.5 million in development potential. This left more than a million being attributed to the easement and the restriction on the number of the homes. This value, he strongly suggested was too high. Mr. Hornig also cited comparable sales on Tricorn Road and Marrett Road, which did not support the appraised value of the Cotton Farm lots at $880,952. There was a discussion among members of the points raised by Mr. Hornig, with some members showing a great deal of hesitancy about the proposed project, and others voicing their support. Ms. Shaw made the point that the 1 lot values represent the “top of the market”, which she felt was too high, and she suggested that there would be little harm in waiting on the proposal. Mr. Cohen expressed his opinion that the matter was being “over analyzed” and that the parcel had important conservation value to the Town. Members then discussed the next steps relative to the vote of Town Meeting, th which Mr. Cohen said could be as early as April 28. Mr. Kanter reiterated his concern regarding the legality of the acquisition and whether the CPC could approve a project cost for more than the appraised value. (The appraisals came in at $4,400,000 and $3,700,000 and the negotiated price was $3,800,000.) Ms. Krieger assured Mr. Kanter that this question had been researched by Town Counsel, and that the CPC could approve an appropriation at $3,800,000 (within the value given in the higher appraisal). Mr. Kanter also posed whether a multi-use package was out of the question because of the wording of the motion, (which identified the purpose of the proposed acquisition as being only for conservation.) Ms. Krieger responded that this was correct, and that the parcel could only be purchased for conservation purposes. Mr. Cohen and Mr. Kelley addressed this issue, stating that in the beginning phases of the negotiations, the parcel had been considered only for conservation, and that this language therefore, had been used in the writing of the motion. Ms. Fenollosa raised the issue of bonding the $3.8 million dollars for the project, and informed the Committee that she had requested bonding scenarios from Mr. Addelson. She said he would get this information to her in the next few days. Ms. Kay Tiffany, a Lexington resident, spoke in support of the project, stating that the land was “very important, and a lovely viewscape”. Ms. Weiss questioned Mr. Kelley about why the configuration of the lots was different than in 2008, to which he replied that there was a desire to control a greater swath of land back to the adjoining conservation land. 2.Town Office Building Preservation Project - The Committee discussed the Town Office Building project, and confirmed the receipt of a 27-page document from Mr. Barrett, Facilities Project Manager. Ms. Rice explained that the document was not generated after the 7-page document was received th by the CPC on March 11, but was in fact the basis for the compilation of that report. It was the feeling of some members of the CPC that there had been too little information too late on the project, and that such action had put the CPC in a difficult position. Ms. Weiss stated that she had repeatedly th asked for the longer report, starting at the March 11 meeting when the condensed version was presented to the CPC. There was a lengthy discussion 2 as to whether information had been withheld from the CPC, with differing opinions being expressed on both sides of the issue. 3.SB-90, An Act to Sustain Community Preservation –Ms. Weiss noted that a letter of support had never been sent to the House Ways and Means Committee, and that the CPC would be writing one shortly. The Selectmen will also be asked to submit a letter. 4.Community Preservation Coalition Conference – Ms. Weiss noted that the th Community Preservation Coalition is holding a conference on May 8 in Northhampton. Themeeting was adjourned at 4:40 pm. Respectfully submitted, Nathalie Rice Administrative Assistant Community Preservation Committee 3