MINUTES OF MEETING COMMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMITTEE September 17, 2018 Location: Weston Town Hall

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1 MINUTES OF MEETING COMMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMITTEE September 17, 2018 Location: Weston Town Hall The Community Preservation Committee (the CPC or the Committee ) convened a regular meeting, duly noticed, on Monday, September 17, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. in the Lower Level Conference Room at Weston Town Hall. CPC members present were Stephen Ober, Chair; Barry Tubman; Nathalie Thompson; Ken Newberg; Sue Zacharias; Laurie Bent; Steve Wagner; Nina Danforth; and Chris Houston. Weston Media Center Senior Producer Alanna Muldoon and CPC Administrator Tracey Lembo were also present. Steve Ober indicated that the meeting was being videotaped. Public Comment None. Applications for November Town Meeting Mr. Ober stated that the CPC had received 3 applications for November Town Meeting including 2 requests for historic preservation restrictions from the Historical Commission ( HC ). Mr. Ober noted that the request for funds to acquire a preservation restriction ( PR ) on 71 Lexington St. was ready for presentation but that the request for funds to acquire a PR on 120 Summer St. was not and would not be in time for the CPC s next meeting on September 24 th. Steve Wagner reported that the HC had not yet discussed the PR on 120 Summer St. and that it would first meet to discuss the project, then meet with the owner, and finally meet to vote on the project. Mr. Ober noted that Alicia Primer had asked whether both 71 Lexington St. and 120 Summer St. could be presented at one meeting; Mr. Ober indicated that the only possibility for this to occur was at the CPC s meeting on October 15 th, one week prior to the CPC s Public Hearing. Noting that he could not attend the CPC s meeting on October 15 th, Chris Houston suggested a single presentation which would be respectful of volunteer s time since the projects were unlikely to require follow up. Mr. Wagner suggested that requests for PRs often generate questions and should be presented as soon as possible (i.e., at 2 meetings). Mr. Houston reflected that if 120 Summer St. did not move forward for some reason, the CPC could cancel its meeting on October 15 th. Barry Tubman asked about other projects which the CPC had expected for November Town Meeting. Mr. Ober listed projects which the CPC had once anticipated would occur in FY19 including Brook School Apartments ( BSA ), Case House, Memorial Pool, Josiah Smith Tavern ( JST ), and 500 Wellesley St., none of which would be considered at November Town Meeting. In response to Mr. Houston s question, Laurie Bent explained that the acquisition of 500 Wellesley St. had been delayed because of testing and remediation issues, and Mr. Houston indicated that no CPC funds would be included in the November 2018 Town Meeting request for Case House. The CPC discussed the Recreation Master Plan Steering Committee s request for $50,000 to create a Recreation Master Plan ( RMP ). Tracey Lembo reported that she had attempted to contact 10 municipalities which had appropriated CPA funding for RMPs at town meetings to determine the rationale for doing so. Ms. Lembo explained that though not all municipalities had responded to her

2 request for information, of those which had, none had provided information indicating the verb (i.e., acquisition, creation, preservation, and/or rehabilitation/restoration) that had been used to justify the expense. Ms. Lembo then read an from Oak Bluffs CPC Administrator Margaret Knight which suggested that the Oak Bluffs CPC s understanding of CPA allowable spending purposes had evolved over time and that the appropriation would likely not be approved today. Ms. Knight s further indicated that correspondence with the Community Preservation Coalition s Executive Director had led her to believe that an RMP would be an appropriate use of CPC administrative funds. Mr. Ober noted that the Oak Bluffs RMP had been approved in Ms. Lembo reported that CPC administrative funds had been used to pay for Weston s last RMP. Mr. Houston expressed opposition to seeking a Town Counsel opinion on whether an RMP was an allowable town meeting appropriation and asked if there was a dollar figure which CPC members would be comfortable approving out of its administrative allowance. Some Committee members wondered whether the Town should have the opportunity to weigh in on an expenditure as large as $50,000; characterizing $50,000 as small in relation to the Town s budget, Mr. Houston stated that the Town was trying to move away from small dollar town meeting articles. Noting that the CPC had returned over $40,000 in administrative funding in each of the last 5 years, Mr. Houston wondered whether members would be comfortable approving a $40,000 administrative funding request. Ken Newberg suggested that he would certainly be comfortable approving a $25,000 CPC administrative request in any one year. Committee members asked if the project could be phased. Mr. Houston noted that he would consult with the Recreation Master Plan Steering Committee before the CPC s next meeting. The Committee discussed the expected $8,000 in contributions from other Town sources to fund activities in the RMP which were not CPA eligible (e.g., indoor facilities and artificial turf). Some members wondered if some projects recommended by the RMP would be school projects. Ms. Lembo reminded the Committee that fields located at the schools were also used by community groups and recalled that many CPA and privately funded projects had been generated by the last RMP in Mr. Ober speculated that only costs which were clearly ineligible for CPA funding had been excluded from the current request (i.e., dual purpose activities had been treated as CPA expenses). Evaluating CPA Fund Priorities Mr. Ober explained that this item did not relate to financial constraints. Mr. Houston summarized the issue as the Town wants to do too much stuff and explained how proponents of some projects approved at Town Meeting were frustrated by the Town s inability to move them forward quickly because of competing human resource priorities. Mr. Houston cited the Permanent Building Committee ( PBC ), the Department of Public Works, the Recreation Commission, and the School Committee as examples of groups which should be consulted in certain cases to ascertain a project s place in the queue. For example, Mr. Houston suggested that because of the Case House and JST projects, the PBC might not be able to supervise a BSA expansion, should it be approved, for 2 years. Mr. Houston suggested that applicants should consult relevant Town bodies before the Town Meeting vote. Nathalie Thompson noted that proponents might be anxious for Town Meeting approval no matter the timeline in order to secure a place in the queue. Mr. Houston suggested that if conversations occurred before Town Meeting, proponents expectations would be managed. pg. 2

3 Mr. Ober wondered about the PBC s ability to manage the JST project should it be approved in May; Mr. Houston noted that most of the Old Library project should be completed by that time. Mr. Wagner wondered if asking proponents to consult with the PBC, for example, would add to the PBC s workload. Committee members discussed the setting of Town priorities; Mr. Houston indicated that the PBC would probably ask the Board of Selectmen ( BOS ) to set priorities. Nina Danforth recounted her experience in trying to implement the Case Park Project with DPW s help. In response to Mr. Ober s question, Mr. Houston proposed adding language to the CPC s application directing applicants to discuss which boards they had consulted. Ms. Lembo suggested requiring applicants to consult the Town Manager, who would be in the best position to understand competing priorities, and, at Mr. Houston s suggestion, agreed to ask Donna VanderClock to help develop language to add to the CPC Guidelines for Project Submission. Existing CPA Fund Project Status The CPC reviewed CPA Fund appropriations with outstanding balances. Noting that it had been almost 2 years since Michael Harrity had presented financial information on Case Estates to the CPC, Mr. Ober directed Ms. Lembo to ask Ms. VanderClock for a status update on the project. Mr. Houston explained delays in sidewalk projects stemming from culvert studies and National Grid work. Mr. Wagner indicated that the second phase of cemetery restoration would be begin in the fall and continue through next summer and noted that the contractor had offered to allow the CPC to observe some of the work. In response to Mr. Ober s question about the Home Ownership Opportunity Fund, Mr. Newberg reported that the Housing Trust was in the midst of drafting a Request for Proposals for a realtor to identify suitable properties. Mr. Newberg also indicated that the small balance in the Staff Support and Regional Housing Services Office account was not needed for the current year. CPC Administrative Account Status Mr. Ober reminded the Committee that a question had arisen at Town Meeting several years prior regarding the CPC s use of administrative funding and that since that time he had slides ready to address any such questions. In response to Mr. Newberg s question about the value of the $4,350 spent annually on Community Preservation Coalition dues, Ms. Lembo explained that the group provided technical assistance and advocacy. September 2018 CPC Plan Mr. Ober suggested that Committee members review the CPC Plan and provide suggested edits at the next meeting. In response to Mr. Tubman s question, Ms. Lembo reported that the current CPC Plan was merely an update and that there were no major changes from the prior year s plan. CPC Member Term Limits for Moderator Appointees Mr. Ober indicated that the Moderator had reappointed him and Ms. Thompson over the summer but that he had been informed that it would be his last 3 year term. Mr. Ober explained that the Moderator had instituted term limits for the Finance Committee and appeared to be striving for consistency across boards and committees. Mr. Ober noted that term limits would only apply to members appointed by the Moderator. In response to Mr. Ober s question about whether anyone was interested in becoming CPC Chair, Committee members expressed support for Mr. Ober s continued tenure in the position. Mr. Ober then suggested that a new Chair should take over during his final year on the CPC. pg. 3

4 Approve Minutes of the CPC Meeting on July 16, 2018 VOTE: Mr. Ober entertained a motion to approve the minutes of the CPC meeting on July 16, 2018 as amended. Ms. Bent made the motion, which was seconded by Ms. Thompson. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:05 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Tracey A. Lembo CPC Administrator pg. 4

5 Appendix A CPC Meeting September 17, 2018 Document List 1) Applications for November Town Meeting: a. 71 Lexington St. Historic Preservation Restriction b. 120 Summer St. Historic Preservation Restriction c. Recreation Master Plan 2) CPC Plan: a. Draft September 2018 CPC Plan (Clean Version) b. Draft September 2018 CPC Plan (Redlined from September 2017) c. Draft September 2018 CPC Plan Appendices 1-7 3) September Existing CPA Fund Project Status Spreadsheet 4) CPC Administrative Expense Spreadsheet 5) Recreation Master Plans Spreadsheet 6) from Oak Bluffs CPC Administrator Margaret Knight to Tracey Lembo dated July 17, ) Draft Minutes of the July 16, 2018 CPC Meeting. pg. 5