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2024-02-15 CPC Minutes (PDF) CITY OF BEVERLY PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES BOARD: Community Preservation Committee LOCATION: Beverly City Hall, 191 Cabot Street, 3rd Floor Chambers DATE: February 15, 2024 BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Derek Beckwith, Vice Chair Robert Buchsbaum, Suzanne LaMont,Nancy Marino, Heather Richter, Christy Edwards, David Ershun BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: OTHERS PRESENT: Director of Planning and Development Darlene Wynne (arrived at 7:44pm) RECORDER: Naomi Moca 1. Call to order Chair Beckwith opens the meeting at 7:00 p.m. and takes a roll call. 2. Consultation and Q&A with the CPC There is no one present. 3. CPC Project Close Outs a. Gillis Park Stairs —Beverly Recreational Department(continued from the prior meeting) Director of Parks and Recreation Bruce Doig is present and states that the information presented to the Committee today includes the original quote for services. Doig states that the change order was for an additional 55 bricks. Doig states that a single quote was obtained from A& R Construction instead of going out to bid. The stairs are now restored. Beckwith acknowledges that the project was delayed due to the RDA process and COVID-19, among other issues. Beckwith expresses appreciation that the project came in under budget. The Committee agrees that the additional details are sufficient to close out the project. 4. CPA Funding Round 11 —Initial Review of Applications a. Beverly Affordable Housing Trust Allocation—Mayor's Office This item will be discussed at the March 21, 2024 meeting. b. Holcroft Park Renovation -Beverly Recreation Department Doig states that it is challenging to provide a more detailed budget showing total project costs, including design,materials, and labor as requested because it is difficult to predict the costs. Another unknown factor is whether labor will be provided through vendors or partially through DPW. Doig clarifies that nothing in the project is ineligible for CPA funding, to his knowledge. The basketball court budget is $200,000, and the building budget is $250,000. The basketball court teardown will not interfere with the summer park program and will be done first. Beverly Community Preservation Committee February 15,2024 Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 5 Edwards asks if CPA funds are typically paid out prior to the completion of projects and Beckwith states that just the completed component of a project may be paid. The Committee discusses that the application is for$250,000 to pay a portion of the project. Marino suggests that the application be for only a $250,000 portion of the park and that the $400,000 be mentioned in an accompanying narrative. Edwards points out that of the $690,000 project,there are more than $250,000 worth of CPA-eligible items within the project, so paying $250,000 of the total without specifying exact items is acceptable. Doig also gives the example of Pete's Park coming in under budget due to DPW completing a portion of the work. Buchsbaum asks what the implications are of the timing of the reimbursement. Doig states that reimbursement at the end of the fiscal year is preferable. The project must be completed by June 1, 2025. Edwards states that it would be helpful to know what the total project cost is,regardless of whether all of it is eligible for CPA funding. Doig states that the design component can be charged to the PARC grant for the 2024 fiscal year. Bobrek Engineering is the designer on the project. Doig addresses the Committee's question about the long-term management of the park and states that the only part of the park that is unusable or dangerous is the benches, and he notes that the bench repairs that were done a few years ago have already deteriorated. Doig states that the typical warranty for the best equipment is 15 years maximum. Doig states that the Parks and Recreation Department staff constantly review and assess the equipment. Doig gives the example that in 2018 the slides were replaced for$200,000, and he mentions that plastic degrades and equipment in the park can be worn down from constant use and weather conditions. The average life expectancy of playground equipment is about 20 years when it is beyond repair and needs to be replaced. Buchsbaum clarifies that CPA funds may not be used for routine maintenance, and in his opinion, a 20-year cycle for a complete overhaul seems reasonable. Doig states that there are 28 parks in the City, 6 of which are at schools, so the City is responsible for 22 of them. Edwards clarifies that the Committee cannot fund work before the execution of the MOU and Doig states he understands that condition. Beckwith mentions the public comment letters and expresses gratitude for the public's participation. The Committee discusses that there is no close date for public comment. c. Critical Home Repair Program—Essex County Habitat for Humanity Meegan O'Neill and Don Preston of Essex County Habitat for Humanity (Habitat) are present to discuss the request for funding a Critical Home Repair(CHR)program. O'Neill addresses the Committee's request for more detail in the application regarding the administrative process for this project, as well as the anticipated lines of communication that would be in place. O'Neill states that typically a homeowner will apply to Habitat,Habitat then determines eligibility, Habitat team members and social workers visit the site, Habitat determines the homeowner's financial status, Habitat determines the physical status of the home such as a broken boiler, Habitat coordinates the work with subcontractors and/or volunteers, and then Habitat would submit the invoice to the Committee at the close of the project. Beverly Community Preservation Committee February 15,2024 Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 5 7:44 p.m.: Wynne arrives. Beckwith asks whether Habitat receives CPA funds from any other municipalities. O'Neill states no. Beckwith states that the Committee will typically determine whether CPA funds are eligible before the project is started, and then disburse the funds after the project is completed; he adds in this case, good communication will be beneficial. O'Neill states that at the January 25, 2024 meeting the Committee discussed that the work would be specific to preservation of the home, not to accessibility for example, in order to stay within the scope of eligibility. O'Neill states that for the program to be effective for the people that Habitat wants to help, there would need to be a way to move forward in a timely fashion. Beckwith states that there is no administrative process in place for that right now, such as City staff oversight or a signoff where the expectations are clear and there is regular reporting. There is no existing project like this one on the books. O'Neill asks if the Committee has any suggestions for an administrative process that allows CPA funds to be disbursed with a somewhat quick turnaround time. Beckwith suggests including the steps in the MOU language. Richter suggests that the funding be permitted only for specific structural elements, such as roofs or stairs. Beckwith states that the Committee hopes to hire a dedicated staff person and suggests this person could be responsible to coordinate with Habitat. Marino states that while the Committee does not want to stop Habitat from helping people, but she expects applicants to become knowledgeable with the Community Preservation Act. For instance, CPA funds are not designed to respond to emergencies. O'Neill agrees and clarifies that Habitat anticipates requesting CPA funds for a limited number of projects per year, perhaps four. Edwards asks what the typical turnaround time is for a project. O'Neill states that it varies due to factors such as people having to get documents to prove ownership of the house and to prove income, or the scope of the project, such as whether it is a complete gut rehab or a smaller project. Marino asks if the application is to only do projects in Beverly. O'Neill states yes. While Habitat has used CPA funds for new housing, it has never done any critical home repairs in Beverly due to not having a source of funds. O'Neill explains that the Merrimac and North Shore Habitat chapters merged into Essex County Habitat three years ago. O'Neill states that she is happy to provide additional letters of support. O'Neill states that the application is for$100,000 as a starting point to see how the program goes. Preston gives examples of new construction projects in the City: Habitat built the Family Promise Day Center, renovated two units in Gloucester Crossing that were damaged by fire, and partnered with the City and Harborlight Homes to build 23 Chase Street. O'Neill states that it has not been determined whether Habitat will apply to the Affordable Housing Trust for additional funding. O'Neill states that she discussed the program with Mayor Michael Cahill, who expressed strong support for Habitat doing work within the City. Whereas Cahill's focus was on new construction, he referred O'Neill to the CPC for the Critical Home Repair program. The Committee discusses that a letter of support from the Mayor or the City Council will be helpful. Beckwith asks whether the funding is only for critical home repair and not for communications or marketing. O'Neill states that it is directly for the project and materials. d. Girdler House Kitchen Updates - Old Ladies Home Society, Inc. d/b/a Girdler House Beverly Community Preservation Committee February 15,2024 Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 5 Ellie Filyaw of Girdler House is present and states that the project addresses affordable housing because the residents pay an affordable monthly rent and in turn, they receive meals, housekeeping, laundry, and personal care items. Girdler House is licensed as a boarding house. Filyaw states that the project meets the kitchen storage needs because the Board of Health required that the kitchen equipment be replaced, which necessitated shifting the storage and redesigning the zones. Having a functioning kitchen that complies with Board of Health standards is necessary to provide meals for the residents as outside meal services are too expensive. Dry goods cannot be stored in the basement. e. Girdler House Generator Replacement- Old Ladies Home Society, Inc. d/b/a Girdler House Filyaw states that the application for the generator is being withdrawn due to the timeline of the work, which has already started due to its urgency. LaMont asks for clarification on the neighborhood support portion of the application and Filyaw clarifies that it would be available to support neighbors on an emergency basis.Filyaw expresses hope that the generator may support air conditioning in the future. The Committee discusses that the project will look for other sources of funding such as endowment and fundraising. The Committee expresses gratitude for the application and the time, even though it ended up being withdrawn. L Girdler House Window Replacement - Old Ladies Home Society, Inc. d/b/a Girdler House There are no questions. Edwards states that she will not be able to attend the March 21, 2024 meeting. Marino states that there was an article in a recent issue of the Salem Evening News about the Peabody CPC discussing accountability for funding. The Peabody CPC discussed that there could be unaccounted funds for a year or two, and the CPC would not know the status of projects. Marino states that Peabody's funding for housing projects is in perpetuity, not 20 or 30 years. Beckwith states that looking into how other community's operate is one of the responsibilities in the potential support staff job description. 5. CPC Administration a. Update on use of administrative funds for CPC staff support Beckwith states that while the position is being reviewed by the City Solicitor, Wynne will continue to support the Committee. The target is to have it staffed in advance of the drafting MOU phase. Wynne asks what process the Committee used to determine that an MOU was the most appropriate solution. Richter states that it was never discussed and was presented by the staff member. Wynne states that other municipalities use other methods, and the future support staff member could research what other communities use to enforce the project funding. Beckwith Beverly Community Preservation Committee February 15,2024 Meeting Minutes Page 5 of 5 suggests that Edwards write a memo to distribute at the March 21, 2024 meeting, as she will be absent. 6. Approval of minutes a. January 25,2024 The members review and offer edits to the January 25, 2024 draft meeting minutes. LaMont: Motion to accept the January 25, 2024 meeting minutes as amended. Richter seconds. Motion carries (6-0). 7. Other items not known in advance of the posting of this agenda Buchsbaum asks about the status of the supplemental funding requested from Harborlight Homes for the affordable housing project at Sohier Road and Tozer Road, noticing that tree clearing had begun. Wynne notes that the City Council approved the CPC's recommendation, the project had its financial closing on December 31,2023, and a building permit has been issued. LaMont states that she attended the Cabot House re-opening. Wynne adds that Sue Goganian, Executive Director of Historic Beverly, has invited the Committee to visit and view the work that was funded by CPA funds. Wynne states that the newest Open Space and Recreation Committee member has agreed to join this Committee. 8. Adjourn Edwards: Motion to adjourn. Marino seconds. The motion carries unopposed. Meeting adjourns at 8:43 p.m. Next regular CPC meeting: Thursday, March 21, 2024, at 7 p.m.