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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-10-25-CPC-min Minutes of the Community Preservation Committee Monday, October 25, 2010 4:00 pm Room 207 Town Offices Present: Board Members: Wendy Manz,Chair; Marilyn Fenollosa, Vice-Chair; Joel Adler, Norman Cohen, Sandy Shaw and Betsey Weiss. Absent: Jeanne Krieger, Leo McSweeney and Dick Wolk Administrative Assistant : Nathalie Rice Also in attendance was David Kanter, member of the Capital Expenditures Committee (CEC). The meeting was called to order at 4:03 pm by Ms. Manz. 1.Approval of Minutes – Minutes from the 2010 meetings of 5/6 and 9/13 were approved. Amendments from Mr. Kanter to the 9/20 minutes were also approved. 2.Discussion of a Lexington Housing Trust – Co-Chairs Mr. Bill Hays and Mr. Bill Kennedy of LexHAB and Mr. Aaron Henry, Senior Town Planner, met with the Committee to discuss creating a Lexington Housing Trust to streamline the process by which CPA-funded units are acquired by LexHAB. th At the October 13 CPC meeting, Mr. Hays had explained shortcomings of the present process, but the Committee did not have time to discuss the alternative proposal. Members of the CPC were concerned with who the recipient organization would be if funds were given to a Trust. Mr. Hays explained that a Housing Trust would be the recipient, or that alternately LexHAB could fulfill the role. He stated that legally, LexHAB can act as a Housing Trust, thereby alleviating the need for an additional entity. He said LexHAB could receive funds and then distribute monies to other housing grant applicants as well. Alternatively, LexHAB could submit its own application, and competing housing groups such as the Housing Authority could independently do the same. Irrespective of which option was chosen, LexHAB would return to the Board of Selectmen (BOS) and the CPC for final approval of any unit purchase. There was considerable discussion of these two alternatives, with Ms. Fenollosa pointing out that if LexHAB were the distributor of funds, an inherent conflict might develop. Members seemed to be more comfortable with an arrangement in which LexHAB would not disperse funds to other 1 housing groups. There was also discussion of establishing criteria for purchasing units if such unspecified appropriations were to be made. Ms. Fenollosa pointed out that the CPC would want some assurance on the issues of rental vs. ownership and maximum purchase price of units. Members also agreed if the CPC were to devote unspecified funds to the group that LexHAB should focus on individual unit purchase rather than the construction of new units such as at the Leary property. There was a discussion of LexHAB’s set aside of approximately $ 1million to eventually buy twenty-six units at Katahdin Woods for inclusion on the Subsidized Housing Inventory (SHI). Mr. Hays stated that LexHAB had had the first part of a report from legal counsel regarding the status of these units as affordable. Whether and when the deed restrictions on these units will no longer be effective is still uncertain Funding from the CPA could augment LexHAB’s savings and make the purchase of the twenty-six units possible at such time as they become available. Mr. Adler voiced his concern that a Housing Trust or unspecified grants to LexHAB might encourage the other three constituencies of the CPA to seek similar arrangements, as well as competition among the housing groups. Mr. Kanter also expressed concern, stating that if monies were given to any entity without strict control, the proposal would not pass Town Meeting. CPC and BOS review would be critical he noted. Members noted that the CPA already requires an annual set aside of 10% of new funds for each of the housing, historic preservation and open space categories. If the CPC decides to make general grants for housing to fund projects to be specified later, it can do so as a “bookkeeping” matter with the allocated amounts to remain in the CPA account until specific projects are submitted.. The Committee voted 4-1-1 (4 in favor, one against and one abstention) to pursue with Town Counsel whether LexHAB might act as a Housing Trust to receive CPA funding for projects to be specified later, or whether this can be handled by allocation within the CPA account. Mr. Addelson, Assistant Town Manager of Finance (who was waiting for his appointment) said he would talk to Mr. Valente, the Town Manager about the proposals. LexHAB will move forward and will submit a proposal for an unspecified grant of CPA funds. 3.Receipt of Self-Help Funds for Cotton Farm – Mr. Addelson announced to the Committee that the Town had heard from the state Division of Conservation Services, and that Lexington had been awarded $500,000 in Self-Help funds toward the purchase of Cotton Farm. Mr. Addelson said he still needed to clarify some of the issues regarding the specifics of the acquisition and how the expenditures were “characterized”. He noted that the 2 $500,000 would be used to offset the Town’s (CPC’s) debt service for this project. The Committee was extremely pleased with the news. 4.equest for Supplemental Funding for Busa Farm and Cotton Farm R Budgets - Mr. Addelson presented a spreadsheet to the Committee which detailed the additional needs in both land acquisition budgets. The Busa budget he noted required $10,000 for the open space and housing restrictions, and $19,450 for the Master Plan. The Cotton Farm budget needed supplemental funding for the following: $4,000 for the legal fees associated with the conservation restriction; $20,795 for legal fees for September and October; $2,000 for survey costs; $25,000 for the Land Management Plan and $6,000 for closing costs. The total shortfall was $71,990, approximately $21,990 more than Mr. Valente had estimated at the previous CPC meeting. In its October 13 meeting, the CPC had voted to allow use of its administrative funds to cover the additional legal expenses, partly because it appeared that the additional funds would be needed before a separate additional allocation could be approved by Town Meeting. Mr. Addelson said that he and Mr. Valente had not been comfortable with using administrative expenses for the overruns to the Busa and Cotton Farm budgets. They were still awaiting word from Town Counsel on this matter, but had decided to th submit an article for the November 15 Special Town Meeting (now confirmed) to cover the overages. The shortfalls would be paid from the Undesignated Fund Balance, should the CPC vote favorably on the request. (Mr. Kanter noted at this point that the CEC had supported the use of CPC Administrative funds for the overage as previously voted by the CPC. Mr. Addelson then went on to clarify the revenue shortfalls that he discussed with the CPC at their October 13th meeting. At that time, he had estimated a $125,000 shortfall due to reduced state matching funds, lower than expected returns on investment income and potential shortfalls in the property tax surcharge. Mr. Addelson reported that he had spoken with officials from the Department of Revenue, and that they would allow these shortfalls to be justified at the end of the budget cycle in June of 2011. He said he would need to look more closely at the shortfalls, but that in round numbers, there might be a $100,000 shortfall in revenue and $75,000 in overage costs associated with Busa and Cotton Farm acquisitions. The figure of $1.8 million in available funds, he noted, would therefore be closer to $1.6 million. Mr. Cohen made a motion to recommend that the CPC approve up to $75,000 in supplemental funding from CPA funds to cover the overage costs associated with the Busa and Cotton Farms projects. The motion was seconded and approved 6-0. 3 5.Needs Assessment Report – Ms. Manz requested that members send their changes to Ms. Rice. All updates are in except for the conservation section and the remainder of the housing sections. Ms. Rice will combine member comments and distribute a new draft for the Committee to edit. 6.Update on CPC Signs for Ongoing Projects – Ms. Shaw updated the Committee on her progress to date on CPA signs. She has been working with a sign company from Burlington, and had two mock ups for the Committee to review. The CPC chose a mock-up with the Town seal elevated above the sign, and asked Ms. Shaw to see if the vendor would do an 18”x 24” prototype for CPC review. The cost of each sign was $175. Members reminded Ms. Shaw that the Town seal should be approved with the Board of Selectmen since its design has changed over the years. 7.Review of Municipal Projects – Ms. Manz noted the receipt of the municipal project list, which included 7 projects for FY 2012 and one submitted on an informational basis that would come before the Committee in FY 2013. She noted appreciation for the projects being submitted to the CPC prior to the st November 1 deadline. She suggested that since many of the projects involve historic buildings, it might be helpful this year to have the Historic District Commission (HDC) and the Historical Commission “weigh in” on the merits of the historic preservation projects. Ms. Fenollosa pointed out that the Historic Commission (HC) is better positioned to evaluate a building’s historic significance, while the HDC is better at decisions such as determining the type of roof shingles for a particular historic structure. After some discussion it was decided that the list of projects should be sent to Joe Welch, Chair of the HDC and to David Kelland, Chair of the HC for comments. Ms. Manz also suggested that the two historical groups should be invited to attend the applicants’ presentations. 8.Leary Planning Funds – Ms. Manz updated the Committee on the progress of the planning efforts for the Leary land, specifically the affordable housing component. She explained that a proposal would be submitted to the CPC st after the Board of Selectmen voted on the proposal at their November 1 meeting. This would mean the proponents would not meet the CPC’s st November 1 deadline. A motion was made and members voted 6-0 to accept th an application for a request for Leary Planning funds up to November 5. 9.Busa Farm Acquisition – Wording of the Original Motion – Ms. Manz said she had received a call from a citizen who had objected to the wording in a Recreation flyer regarding the uses for which the Busa property had been approved at Town Meeting. Ms. Manz said she wanted the CPC to take note 4 of the Committee’s vote on the acquisition, which specified that the land be acquired for “one or more of the following uses; recreation, affordable housing, and open space”. th The next meeting was scheduled for Monday November 8 at 3:00 pm. The meeting was adjourned at 6:02 pm. Four documents were reviewed or presented at the CPC meeting; (1)A spreadsheet entitled, “Estimate of Additional Costs for Busa and Cotton Farm, October 15, 2010”. This document is on file with the CPC. (2)A one page document entitled, “Lincoln Housing Trust”, dated 10/1/09. This document is on file with the CPC. (3)Copies of the CPC votes on the Busa Farm acquisition, taken from the CPC Report to Special Town Meeting, dated May 6, 2009, and from minutes of the CPC meeting of Wednesday, May 6, 2009. (4)A copy of an email from Stuart Saginor, Director of the Community Preservation Committee, dated October 18, 2010, explaining CPC public notice requirements. Respectfully submitted, Nathalie Rice Administrative Assistant Community Preservation Committee 5