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CPC Meeting 09-30-2021 Minutes -final-approved Community Preservation Committee Meeting Notes September 30, 2021 PUBLIC MEETING/HEARING MINUTES CITY OF BEVERLY BOARD OR COMMISSION: Community Preservation Committee SUBCOMMITTEE: N/A DATE: September 30, 2021 LOCATION: Both remote and in-person access are available. Beverly City Hall, City Council Chamber, 3rd Floor, 191 Cabot Street, Beverly, MA MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairperson Heather Richter; Nancy Marino; Christy Edwards; Marilyn McCrory; Robert Buchsbaum; Wendy Pearl MEMBERS ABSENT: Thomas Bussone, II; Vice Chair Derek Beckwith OTHERS PRESENT: Denise Deschamps, Economic Development Planner, Planning Department; Richard Tabbut; Tammy Marciano; Suzie Lamont; (City Councilor) Estelle Rand; (School Committee member) Rachel Abel; Carolyn Palmer; Susan Carnivale; Kristin Carlson; Andrew DeFranza; David Santomenna RECORDER: Stacia Chamberlain 1. Call to Order Ms. Richter calls the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Deschamps reads a statement regarding public participation for this hybrid meeting. 2. Welcome and History of the Community Preservation Act McCrory reads aloud a prepared statement on the history of the CPA. A presentation is put on screen and Buchsbaum describes the information contained therein. In particular, he highlights a slide giving an overview of what the CPC has funded since the inception of the Committee. Richter outlines the funding allocated for various CPA-funded projects. Richter calls the public hearing to order. 3. Public Hearing to Discuss Needs,Possibilities, and Resources in Beverly a. Invitation for Public Input Pearl opens the discussion by explaining the purpose of the public hearing and invites all public comments for recommendations for the Committee on future projects. 1. Richard Tabbut, 57 Sonning Road,recommends that the CPA funds be used on the Cabot House, the property owned by Historic Beverly. He also proposes that the city needs more open space in the city, especially in Ward 3. 2. Tammy Marciano, 6 1/2 Mechanic Street, requests that the CPC consider building permanent courts for pickle-ball sports. 3. Suzie Lamont, 20 Porter Street,requests that the CPC put funding toward pocket parks and open spaces, in proportion to increased population and urbanization. 4. Estelle Rand, 3 Agate Street, recommends restoration of existing open space areas, and keeping up with change of use of open spaces and ways to activate existing open space. 1 Community Preservation Committee Meeting Notes September 30, 2021 She also wants them to think about the potential for small purchases to be made in vacant land or plots for expanded pocket parks. She also mentioned the importance of housing. 5. Rachel Abel, 19 Echo Avenue, echoes the suggestion of pocket parks. She encourages the city to find opportunities for more passive public use, such as dog parks. 6. Carolyn Palmer, 9 Corning Street, suggests the idea of community gardens; she would like for there to be increased green spaces downtown in heavily developed areas like Gloucester Crossing or off of Rantoul Street. McCrory wishes to reply to some of the public suggestions. She adds that she encourages the public to make specific recommendations for public plots that may be available for purchase by the CPC. Richter also recommends that more complex proposals benefit from engagement or partnership with public representatives within the city, such as City Councilors. Marino, also a member of the Beverly Recreation Commission, asserts that she is encouraged by the suggestions and participation from the public and sees good opportunities for cooperative efforts to improve the city. Buchsbaum also speaks on behalf of the Conservation Commission that the public can also pursue or suggest projects through other committees and commissions. 7. Susan Carnivale, 208 Dodge Street, who teaches pickle ball, echoes the request for pickle ball courts, and stresses how the sport is multi-generational. How to Apply for CPA Funds a. Three Examples of Successful Applications Pearl presents a slide presentation. She invites Suzie Lamont, former successful applicant for CPA funding, to speak publicly about their process of applying for and receiving approval for their project, the restoration of the front and side facades of the G.A.R. Hall. Marino presents Rachel Abel, Ward 1 representative, to the Committee. She speaks about the Greens Hill Trail project, a green space project that came to fruition with the support of the CPA. Kristin Carlson, of Harborlight Community Partners, is present to discuss the 2 Hardy Street project, a housing project that came to fruition with the support of the CPA. b. CPA Eligibility Requirements Richter discusses the eligibility criteria for CPA funding, which is displayed in a table on screen as part of the CPA application presentation. c. Important Dates and Deadlines Richter discusses the application deadlines for CPA funding, which is also displayed in a table on screen as part of the CPA application presentation. 4. Application Forms and Instructional Materials Christy Edwards, at-large representative on the CPC, discusses additional information on applying for CPA funding. This information is also displayed on screen as part of the CPA 2 Community Preservation Committee Meeting Notes September 30, 2021 application presentation. 5. Questions and Answers Richter welcomes questions from the public with regard to the CPA application process and eligibility. a. Carolyn Palmer,member of the Cove Elementary School PTO, asks whether school recreational equipment is eligible for funding. They are looking for a more accessible playground for children with special needs. Marino answers that the owner of the project would be the city of Beverly. She suggests that the city would need to sign off. Ms. Palmer asks about the duration of time for using funds. She also asks if there is room for minor changes to the project once begun; she also asks if projects need to be brand new or if they can be used on existing equipment, in this case. Lastly, she asks if they need to have found alternate funding at a certain percentage for the total cost of the project. Marino adds that labor can be considered as part of a project's support in addition to financial support. b. Tammy Marciano asks if the city mayor needs to approve particular sites for a project proposal. McCrory clarifies that for any property to be used for a project the owner must also approve of the project. Marino adds that the Recreation Department would also need to sign off on it. c. Ms. Abel offers that applicants will need to allow themselves time to go through the review process with the city solicitor. She offers her support as a professional grant writer as well. d. Estelle Rand welcomes applicants to reach out to their city councilors when applying for their projects for support and partnership. Richter also offers that the Planning Department is also a good resource for applicants. There being no further questions from the public, Richter closes the public hearing. Deschamps takes a roll call; All present members in favor; motion passes 6-0. 6. Regular Committee Business a. Review of out-of-cycle eligibility and pre-application, submitted by the Trustees of Reservations relative to the purchase of a conservation restriction,by the City of Beverly, on parcels at Moraine Farm, owned by the Trustees of Reservations. Richter invites the applicant for the Trustees of Reservations to speak. David Santomenna,Associate Director of Land Conservation of the Trustees of Reservations, is present to speak about the project. He reiterates the specific request of the pre-application, and solicits questions from the Committee. Richter asks why they chose to apply for funding for the purchase of a conservation restriction as opposed to applying for funding to purchase land at Moraine Farm, as they are currently trying to purchase land at Moraine Farm, owned by Project Adventure. Edwards asks about the property owned by Project Adventure and then clarifies that this pre- 3 Community Preservation Committee Meeting Notes September 30, 2021 application is not requesting funds to purchase land it is requesting funds for the purchase of conservation restrictions. She asserts that an aspect of the application should be clear about the benefits to the city, and its residents, if they (City)purchase the conservation restriction. Edwards restates that any CPA funding would technically go to the City to purchase a conservation restriction, versus the Trustees of Reservations to purchase land. Pearl asks whether there is a preservation restriction on the entire property. Mr. Santomenna replies that there is a joint conservation and preservation restriction on the land they are intending to purchase from Project Adventure. The Committee members discuss the details of the pre- application in terms of language. Richter and McCrory discuss the potential for holding a special meeting for review of the full application. Richter suggests they vote now on the eligibility (pre-application) of the project for funding. Edwards states that although the concept of the project is eligible, there is a technical issue with who the applicant is; she asserts that if the language of the application changed to specify that the City is the applicant, since they are the party that would be purchasing the conservation restriction on the three parcels owned by the Trustees of Reservations, then it is qualified for CPA funding. Edwards moves to approve that the project as presented is eligible for CPA funding. Seconded by McCrory. All present members in favor; motion passes 6-0. Richter begins discussion regarding whether or not the project is eligible as an out-of-cycle project. Richter asks Mr. Santomenna about the time-sensitive nature of funding for the acquisition of the conservation restriction as it relates to the capacity of the Trustees to purchase other parcels at Moraine Farm currently owned by Project Adventure. McCrory reads a written statement about the criteria for out-of-cycle funding. She and Mr. Santomenna itemize the applicant's adherence to the six criteria for out-of-cycle projects as defined by the CPC. McCrory moves to approve that this project is eligible as an out-of-cycle project. Seconded by Buchsbaum. All present members in favor; motion passes 6-0. Pearl offers that the CPC may not have adequate funding for this project and suggests that the City may need to be approached about bonding. Committee members discuss the CPC budget briefly. Edwards offers a parting comment that the applicant should be sure to address how the acquisition of this conservation restriction feeds back to the City in terms of tangible benefits. Committee members discuss scheduling a special meeting for review and discussion of a full CPA application. Members agree on October 13th, 2021 for the special meeting. b. Discussion and Possible Vote Relative to Proposed FY2022 CPA Budget Committee members discuss CPC funding reserves and other details about the current fiscal year budget. Edwards moves to accept the FY2022 budget as presented. Seconded by Marino. All present members in favor; motion passes 6-0. c. Review and Acceptance of Meeting Minutes 4 Community Preservation Committee Meeting Notes September 30, 2021 i. Members review the meeting minutes from June 17, 2021 and August 19, 2021. Members discuss edits to August 19, 2021 minutes. McCrory moves to approve the June 17, 2021 minutes and also the August 19, 2021 minutes,the latter as amended. Edwards seconds. Motion passes 6-0. 7. Reminder Re2ardin2 the Community Preservation Committee Plan Update Richter reminds members to look over the sections of the Plan that they have volunteered to review and update in anticipation of the upcoming October 21st, 2021 meeting. 8. Members are Invited to Share Items of Interest to the CPC Richter talks briefly about their community outreach efforts at Harborfest, informing the public about the upcoming funding round. 9. Adiournment Marino makes a motion to adjourn at 9:25 p.m. Seconded by Pearl. All present members in favor; the motion passes 6-0. The next regular meeting of the Community Preservation Committee will be held on October 21st, 2021, in the 3rd floor Chambers of Beverly City Hall, 191 Cabot Street, Beverly, Massachusetts, 01915. 5