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1996-10-24City of Beverly MINUTES ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL October24, 1996 Meeting Members present: Chairman Joyce Golin, Bill Rodenbaugh, Deborah Rosser, Sandra Reincoke, Melissa Nicholson. AIm present: Dawn Goodwin, Tina Cassidy, City Counc'fior Russ Rollins. Golin calls the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Golin asks members if they have any corrections/additions to the draft minutes of the September 26, 1996 meeting of the ECDC. Reinecke: motion to accept the minutes of the September 261h meeting of the ECDC as drafted, seconded by Rodenbaugh. All members in favor, motion carries. Next on the agenda is a discussion of the Morton Thiokol property on Congress Street. Gotin introduces Ms. Maggie F. alloni and Ms. Prisc'~la Gagnon to the Board; Maggie and Prisc'~la have been actively following events at this site on behalf of the neighborhood surrounding it. Golin briefly explains the purpose of the ECDC and why the council is interested in background information on the on-going project to clean up the site. The residents explain that many members of the Ward 2 area are concerned about how the property is being cleaned of contamination, and are concerned about reuse of the property once Morton Thiokol demolishes the buildings on site and removes all contaminated mils. In general, most residents would suppert water-dependent uses or a restaurant at the site, rather than an industrial use. The land is currently zoned for general industrial uses. Rollins adds that the main property consists of about three acres of land, and is assessed at nearly $2,000,000 for the buildings and land. An individual, Mr. Phil Hansbury, has bought a number of houses and a parking area around the site once owned by Thiokol on speculation. He explains that residents dealt with dust and noise during the demolition of the buildings, and that the second phase of the clean-up will involve removal of environmentally-contaminated mils and debris. The company has indicated that the site will be cleaned to meet environmental regulations for housing. He adds that the permit requirements for a Chapter 91 license would result in some public access or other public benefits for the City, and that the neighborhood is Minutes of the ECDC October 24, 1996 meeting page two committed to including a marker at the site commemoraling the death of a Beverly resident killed at the plant during the Manhattan Project. Rollins indicates that the question being asked by the residents is what the best strategy may be for reuse of the property - should the site be rezoned at this point or wait for a proposal to be submitted. The neighbors don't want residential uses, which would not be allowed under the current zoning; instead, they want a use all residents can enjoy. Members discuss the cancer study of the area around the plant that was started in July of 1996. There is a gram available for an additional study that would verify the clean up of the site and identify any remaining environmental/health issues on the property and in the immediate vicinity. The cancer study is still underway. Reinecke adds that an Environmental Impact Report for the project would detail the level of clean-up required. There are different levels of clean-up requirements for different uses. Redenbaugh questions the company' s statement about cleaning up the land to the level required for housing, particularly since the property is not currently zoned for that use. Cassidy mentions that at the last meeting, member Nicholas Zavolas stated that new revisions to the so-called "brownfields" legislation may in fact make tense of this property easier by lowering the clean-up requirements. Rosser states that it is her understanding that the revisions to that legislation will not relax the standards for housing. She adds that ff the City is interested in acquiring the property at some point, it would be advisable to obtain a formal option to purchase from the company. Rodenbaugh agrees that an option would be advisable. Priscilla Gagnon says that the neighborhood thought the City had an option already, but it doesn't. Reinecke asks if the City has plans to revise the Waterfront District language of the Zoning Ordinance. Cassidy answers no. Rollins states that the Harbor Management Authority had discussed the possibility of extending the Designated Port Area to this location, but decided against it. Golin thanks the residents for attending and updating the ECDC members. Next, Golin asks members for updates on their respective projects. Goodwin informs members that there has been one response to the survey of commercialfindustrial sites; the response was from Cummings Properties, the new owners of the former USM site. Reinecke wonders if it would be appropriate to call some of those who were sent surveys to see why they haven't yet responded. Nicholson offers to have an intern who will be joining her office staff make some of the phone calls. She will speak with Cassidy before the next meeting to follow up on the idea. Rosser informs the members that the auction of waterfront property formerly owned by Thomas Cargill has been rescheduled for the next day, October 251h. Bids will be accepted for two separate parcels and on both parcels as a single package. She adds that a number of prospective bidders have inquired about the sites, and that there appears to be a number of possibilities with Minutes of the ECDC October 24, 1996 page three respect to public access to the waterfront as a result. Most of those expressing interest are interested in the entire site, rather than just one of the parcels. There is about 100,000 square feet of upland land area included in the auction. Golin updates members on Zavolas' efforts to work with the Harbor Authority on that group's efforts on a harbor plan. He has been provided with a copy of a scope of services for consultants, and is in the process of reviewing that document. Next, members discuss the question of the MoRon Thiokol property. Nicholson wonders if the company will really decontaminate the property to the level required for housing, given the fact that the land is not zoned for that use. Reinfie: motion to forward a request to the Mayor that he respond to the ECDC's letter suggesting that the City seek a formal option to purchase the land from Morton Thiokol. Rosser seconds the motion, all members are in favor. Motion carries. Rodenbaugh tells members that he and Dick Mooney are working on the subject of increasing tourism in the City. Moohey has been out of town on business, so Rodenbaugh and Mooney will update the members at their next meeting. He adds though that the new director hired by the Beverly Historical Society should be consulted as part of their efforts. Rosser believes that marketing the assets the City currently has will be critical to increasing tourism. She hands out several documents to the members for their information; the documents from the consulting firm of PetersergLaChance Realty Advisors contain information on the community. Mayor Scanion joins the meeting and discusses the fate of the Abraham Edwards School and the potential reuse of the adjacent block, perhaps for a hotel. Rosser suggests that developing a list of current City assets and attractions might be helpful. Reinecke suggests starting with the list generated by the ECDC several years ago. Nicholson states that the Chamber of Commerce is working on a similar list, and suggests the effort could be a joint one. She believes the City should pick one asset from the list'to pursue earnestly. Golin suggests that there be further discussion of this subject at the next meeting. Golin provides members with copies of an article from the Boston Business Journal regarding efforts by the Weston business community to capitalize on the spending power of Regis College students. Next, the Mayor updates members on a proposed TIF for Cummings Properties. To date, one TIF is in place in the City. The TIF for CP Clare is among the most meager in the state. Cummings bought the former Shoe site for $500,000 earlier this year, and committed to $1,000,000 in clean-up costs as a condition of purchase. The City has been discussing the idea of a TIF for this site, and has spoken with representatives of the Mass. Office of Business Development (MOBD) who believe a TIF would be appropriate to consider. He outlines the Minutes of the ECDC October 24, 1996 meeting page four basic points of a TIF which is currently being drafted. It would have a ten year life, lock the current property assessment in place for the duration, and call for a 100 % exemption of investment for the first five years and a 50 % exemption of investment for the second five years. In general, MOBD thought such a proposal would be reasonable, in light of the fact that as part of the agreement Cummings would commit to investing at least $13.5 million in the site during the life of the TIF. Members agree to hold a special meeting on October 281h if the TIF proposal is ready for discussion by that date. Cassidy adds that she will meet with Rodenbaugh to review the TIF in the meantime; as is past practice, Mr. Rodenbaugh will review the plan and make a presentation to the ECDC at the special meeting. Next, the Mayor discusses his recent decision to pursue a project to upgrade certain portions of the City's drainage system and to fully sewer all areas of the City; currently, about five percent of the City is not sewered. Rodenbaugh asks about acquiring a Right of First Refusal on the Thiokol site. The Mayor answers that the City asked for one, but received only a verbal assurance from the company that they would let the City know when it was ready to sell. He states that he will contact the company's management team in Chicago about the possibility of a commitment. Reinecke asks Cassidy about the issue of bike lockers at the new MBTA garage. Cassidy responds that she sent the information Zavolas gave her to the appropriate person at the MBTA. Golin reminds members that the next regular meeting of the ECDC will be held on Thursday, November 21, 1996. Members indicate that they could attend a special meeting on the 281h, if one is scheduled. Reinecke: motion to adjourn, seconded by Redenbaugh. All members in favor, motion carries. Meeting is adjourned at 8:05 p.m.