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2007-11-28 CITY OF BEVERLY PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES BOARD OR COMMISSION: SUBCOMMITTEE: DATE: LOCATION: MEMBERS PRESENT: Economic and Community Development Council MEMBERS ABSENT: RECORDER: November 28,2007 Beverly Public Library - Barnett Gallery Patricia Grimes, Frank Killilea, Ed Cahill, Bill O'Hare, Neil Douglas, Don Fournier, Tina Cassidy Bill Howard Eileen Sacco Grimes calls the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Aooroval of Minutes Tina Cassidy asked the members to submit any notes they may have from the last meeting as there was a technical glitch with the tape recorder and she would like to patch the minutes together from notes taken by the members. Grimes recalled that it was more of a "meet and greet" kind of meeting with representatives of Main Streets. She offers to draft a set of minutes using her notes of the meeting. She also states that the three groups (Main Streets, ECDC, and the Chamber of Commerce) planned to have another joint meeting as a follow up. Ed Cahill states that he thought that the meeting was very helpful and notes that Gin Wallace of Main Streets will be attending Chamber of Commerce Board meetings and Mike Harrington is going the attend Main Streets meetings so there will be good communication between the groups. Neil Douglas asked what kind of staff Main Streets and the Chamber of Commerce have. Cassidy explains that the Main Street has an Executive Director and an intern from Endicott College. Douglas asked what the funding source for Main Streets is. Cassidy reported that it is part city funding and donations from businesses and they also have events that raise revenue. She noted that they are currently selling the Beverly Book. Cassidy stated that she will get more information on membership, structure, budgets, etc. for both Main Streets and the Chamber, and report back to the Committee. Douglas offers to help in this regard. Cahill reports that the Chamber is a membership organization and they have a Director and an Assistant Director. He says that they rely on donations from members and fundraising activities for revenue. He also noted that Main Streets interest is to influence businesses to come to Cabot and Rantoul Streets. Minutes Page 10f4 11/28/07 ECDC Meeting Cassidy noted that Main Streets keeps current an inventory of available space in the downtown and the organization focuses on downtown improvements such as streetscape improvements. Cahill notes that Main Streets is also focused on quality of life issues of the people who live in the downtown as well. He adds that the Chamber of Commerce information can be accessed at www.beverlychamber.com. He explains that the mission statement is on that site for public viewing. Grimes states that Main Streets has been actively promoting the notion of getting people to visit the downtown. She notes that the musical performances at various restaurants are wonderful and she has attended a few of them. Douglas states that from an advocacy aspect if we are all on the same page we will need potential support from the state and local government and he feels that it will be highly useful for this discussion to continue. Cassidy says that Main Streets is part of National Main Streets. Douglas suggests that he would like to see due diligence done on this before another joint meeting is held. He states that the group needs to set an agenda to make the meeting productive. He says it would be useful to probe a bit more regarding Main Streets to see if we can find a way to work jointly and support the same projects. Cassidy will talk with Gin Wallace and see what the Main Streets committees are working on. Grimes stated that it would be helpful if the ECDC knew what the priorities are and how Main Streets and the Chamber of Commerce can be folded into that. Update on Citv Projects Cassidy hands out a draft sketch of what may be the home of the parking garage and explains the location. She explains that the Mayor, Rep. Mary Grant and she have been working with the MBT A on this subject for a number of years. The MBT A has $2-3 million in funding from the Federal Government that Congressman Tierney secured for the purpose. She explains the possible plans and noted that in the interim it is possible they may do surface parking. Cassidy also reports that the Mayor met with representatives of the Executive Office of Administration and Finance and was told not to assume that the MBT A will be the sole source of financing for the project, and if the project makes sense the State will find a way to fund it, possibly through a public/private partnership. Douglas asks who would own the garage. Cassidy explains that it would either be owned by the MBTA or the City of Beverly and adds that an RFP would be issued in either event. Minutes Page 2 of4 11/28/07 ECDC Meeting Grimes states that the owner of the Press Box did not want to sell his property. Cassidy states that, to the best of her knowledge, he still does not want to sell it and says that the State has appraised the property and is in the process of developing a relocation plan with regards to the residential tenants of the building. Grimes asks if there was a time frame for the garage project. Cassidy expects that the City should know in six months what the structure will be as to whether it will be a public/private partnership etc. She also explains, with regard to eminent domain proceedings, that whatever land is taken has to be used for a public purpose. Douglas states that he feels that this is a good project but cautions that we may get bogged down with the purchasing of all the property needed for it. Cassidy reports that the former Kelly Nissan site is going to be 100% affordable housing. She provides a copy of the draft plan to the ECDC. She notes that the Weaver Glass building on one end of the site is under construction. Cassidy states that the project on the former Friendly's site has begun and she reviews the plans with the ECDC. She noted that there will be three new buildings; two retail/commercial buildings in the front and a two-story, commercial/office space building in the back. The Planning Board approved the site plan for the project in October. Cassidy reports that no bids were received for parcel A on Sam Fonzo Drive. She explains that because of that, the City recently reissued an RFP for the parcel which is a three acre site. Bids are due back in late December. Cassidy states that she has a meeting next week with the owners of the Rice Rental site to see if they will be getting that project going. That parcel was one of four that were bid on during the earlier RFP process. Cassidy reviews the schematic design for Parcel F on Sam Fonzo Drive and adds that the Kelleher Project has been endorsed by the Planning Board with an ANR. Cassidy informs the Council that there was one bid for the RFP issued for the hockey rink north of L.P. Henderson Road. She notes that the evaluating committee liked the proposal but the financial information still needs to be detailed and the committee requested additional information. Cassidy reports that she is setting up interviews for the consultant for the waterfront rezoning effort. She notes that she expects them to be held the second week of January. Cassidy rsays that the Black Cow project filed an ENF (environmental notification form) with the State's MEP A division and no EIR will be required. She explains that the owners can now file for local permits and expects that they will do so when they get Minutes Page 30f4 11/28/07 ECDC Meeting confirmation from the State that they meet all of the requirements of the agency that provided grant monies for the property's acquisition in 1995. Cassidy updates the ECDC on the Port Marine lawsuit. She notes that the new Building Inspector is familiarizing himself with the details of the case and will be drafting a letter addressing some of the zoning and parking matters that are at issue. She states that she will be meeting with him next week to review the letter and is hopeful that they can solve all of the issues remaining with the case. Cassidy reports that she heard that the Bell Market will be reopening as a grocery store, but does not have an exact time line for same. Cassidy states that an RFP will be issued for the McKay School by the second week of December. She notes that there are at least three developers who have expressed interested in the site in the past. Cassidy reports that the Raymond Farms infrastructure project IS largely done, and paving will be done next spring. Next Meetin2 Grimes states that the date and agenda for the next meeting needs to be set. The next meeting will be held on January 23, 2008. Cassidy says that she could try and put together an agenda for a joint meeting with Main Streets and the Chamber of Commerce officials. Grimes says that she has been serving as Acting Chair of the ECDC and if anyone is interested in the position she would be happy to entertain nominations. Cassidy recommends placing the election of officers on the January meeting agenda for a formal vote. Cassidy reminds members that Bill Howard, President of the Beverly Cooperative Bank has agreed to serve on the ECDC but was unable to attend tonight's meeting. He expects to join the Council at its January meeting. The meeting is adjourned at 8:50 p.m. Minutes Page 40f4 11/28/07 ECDC Meeting