HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-11-03-LEARY-min AD HOC LEARY PROPERTY COMMUNITY HOUSING TASK FORCE
Meeting Minutes of November 3, 2010
Present: Bob Bicknell, George Burnell,Marilyn Fenollosa, Bill Hays, Stephen
Keane, Wendy Manz, Lester Savage, and Betsey Weiss
Staff: Aaron Henry
Absent: Deb Mauger
Minutes
The Task Force unanimously adopted the minutes of its October 27th meeting, as
amended by Wendy Manz and Betsey Weiss.
CPC Application
Chairman Lester Savage summarized his presentation to the Board of Selectmen at their
November 1 meeting, regarding the Task Force's recommended Community
Preservation Act funding request. He reported to the Task Force that the Board of
Selectmen had agreed to submit a funding request to the CPC for planning assistance for
the Leary parcel,but declined to submit a request for funding to stabilize the Leary
farmhouse.
Betsey Weiss was then recognized and read a prepared statement to the Task Force,
which expressed her concern with the Selectmen's majority vote against supporting the
$11,300 CPC request to stabilize the Leary farmhouse when the Ad Hoc Committee had
voted 6-0 in support and before the neighbors' input on Nov 16th She hoped that the
Selectmen would reconsider their vote after the Nov 16th neighborhood meeting Ms.
Weiss also shared her dialogue with Board of Selectmen Chair Hank Manz,further
underscoring both parties' perspective. In response, George Burnell, one of two
Selectmen liaisons to the Task Force, explained his position on the matter to the group
Given the floor, Ms. Fenollosa, stated her belief that because of the Selectmen's vote, the
committee has been clearly barred from exploring any development proposal that
includes the existing dwelling. Mr Burnell interjected that there seems to be no outside
support for saving the structure, and any reconsideration will be an uphill battle. Ms.
Fenollosa said that because of this position,her role on the Task Force, as an advocate
for preservation of the structure, had therefore come to its end, and respectfully
tendered her resignation and departed the meeting
The group continued to consider the merits and effects of the Selectmen's action with
regard to the Task Force's process going forward. Staff then reminded the group that it
did need to refocus its attention on the upcoming public meeting. Ms. Weiss concurred
but wondered how the question regarding the house would be handled. Ms. Manz
offered to provide a reply The Task Force agreed that the Selectmen should also be
encouraged to attend in order to explain their November 1 decision directly The
conversation then moved to a more general discussion of the site plan and public input.
Public Meeting Preparation
Mr Henry outlined a few different approaches the Task Force may employ for the
conduct of the meeting, recapped the available data, and mentioned a few questions that
the committee should be prepared to answer, particularly in regards to next steps.
The committee generally agreed with staff's preference to conduct the meeting more as a
less formal "information" session, the general outline of which would be a description of
the Task Force's charge, its work and deliberations to-date, and a review of the site itself.
A basic PowerPoint presentation will be lead by Mr Savage and supported by staff, with
individual members tapped for more detail as necessary
The Committee requested that staff provide clarification on the implications that come
with the use of state and/or federal funding programs like HOME, and a list of expected
funding sources for the next regularly scheduled meeting.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 10.00 AM.
The next Task Force meeting is Tuesday, November 16, at 7 30 PM,in the Selectmen's
Meeting Room of the Town Office Building