Loading...
CPC Meeting 10-21-2021 Minutes -final Community Preservation Committee Meeting Notes October 21, 2021 PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES CITY OF BEVERLY BOARD OR COMMISSION: Community Preservation Committee SUBCOMMITTEE: N/A DATE: October 21, 2021 LOCATION: Remote access only through Google Meet or by phone MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairperson Heather Richter; Vice Chair Derek Beckwith; Nancy Marino; Marilyn McCrory; Robert Buchsbaum; Wendy Pearl; Thomas Bussone, II; Amy Benjamin MEMBERS ABSENT: Christy Edwards. OTHERS PRESENT: William Lowd, Chair, Beverly Golf and Tennis Commission; Brian Hromadka, CBRE Heery; Gerry Sullivan, Spencer, Sullivan& Vogt; Andrew Leonard, Harborlight Community Partners; Denise Deschamps, Economic Development Planner, Planning Department. RECORDER: Stacia Chamberlain 1. Call to Order Richter calls the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. Richter reads a statement regarding public participation for this virtual meeting. 2. CPA FY22 budget now before City Council and confirmation of CPA funds being brought forward from previous year Richter summarizes that the CPC recommended approval of the CPC FY2022 budget during its September 30, 2021 meeting and that it is now before the City Council. Committee members itemize a few follow-up questions to be directed to Bryant Ayles. A welcome is extended to new CPC member,Amy Benjamin. 3. MOU extension request from Beverly Golf and Tennis Commission relative to complete architectural and systems analysis and preparation of specification plans to guide future historic preservation of the Beverly Golf and Tennis Clubhouse at 134 McKay Street William Lowd, Chairman of Beverly Golf and Tennis Commission, is on the phone to discuss the project. He introduces project team members Brian Hromadka, of CBRE Heery,to give the initial presentation. He provides an overview of their progress in creating a project master plan and specification documents. Lowd states that the Commission will be asking for an extension of the Memorandum of Understanding. Gerald Sullivan, project architect, from Spencer, Sullivan and Vogt provides details of the architectural schematic provided on screen. The team solicits questions and comments from the Committee members. Richter welcomes questions from the members. Beckwith clarifies that this is the fourth extension and he asks whether the March 2022 timeline suggested for the MOU extension is too aggressive. Hromadka answers that they believe they can meet that deadline at this point; however there will always be unforeseeable variables. Buchsbaum asks whether they anticipate that the project is financially viable, and if they have a plan for it if is not. Hromadka replies 1 Community Preservation Committee Meeting Notes October 21, 2021 that he plans to provide a final project proposal that matches funds available and the needs for the space. Pearl asks if the plans for the Clubhouse, as explained this evening, will be shared with the Beverly Historic District Commission (HDC). She asks whether they will build in time to present to other commissions/committees. Hromadka replies that they have an appointment to present to the HDC at their October meeting. McCrory adds that the CPC is not concerned with future programming at the building. Hromadka replies that programming is related to the history of the building and future use and as such they have incorporated programming into the preservation plan for the building. Pearl adds her concern for the financial burden for preservation and safety of the building, given the magnitude of the need. She says too that the CPA funding awarded to the project is intended to be dedicated to that portion of the analysis that relates to historic preservation, and is not intended to support that portion of the analysis that researches and proposes potential revenue-producing uses for the facility in order to make it self-sustaining. Richter reiterates that the applicant needs to be mindful of the limitations of CPA funds in terms of what in particular they are allowed to be used to fund. Hromadka replies that they are mindful of this and their use of CPA funds aligns with the purpose of the CPA. Hromadka's presentation noted that restoration of the building and providing it with new facilities would not only create construction jobs but also encourage tourism,which are benefits, enjoyed by communities that adopt the CPA. Marino asks if they plan to apply to the CPA, next year, for the full cost of the restoration of the Clubhouse. Hromadka replies that they do not have plans to do so. McCrory asserts that `tourism and jobs' are extraneous to the project that the CPC is funding; she wishes they are clear on the goals of this project as it was agreed on. Hromadka cites the goals of the CPC as described online and counters that these interests are indeed aligned. Sullivan adds that they have tried to start from the position of historic preservation. Deschamps clarifies that the City's webpage dedicated to the Community Preservation Committee defines the purpose of the CPA and also identifies by-products of the Community Preservation Act such as tourism and job creation which are commonly touted as reasons to adopt the CPA. Richter welcomes a motion to approve an MOU extension for this project until March 31, 2021. Beckwith makes the motion and Pearl seconds the motion. Deschamps takes a roll-call vote. Motion passes 8-0. 4. MOU extension request from Harborlight Community Partners relative to construction of affordable housing development known as Anchor Point I to be located at 108 Sohier Road Andrew Leonard, project manager with Harborlight Community Partners, is present to ask for a 12-month extension,until November of 2022, of the MOU for this project. He describes the project and reasons for the delay. Bussone moves to extend the MOU until the date requested. Seconded by Buchsbaum. Deschamps takes a roll-call vote. Motion passes 8-0. 5. Updates related to onoin2 proiects that have been awarded CPA funding Deschamps provided the CPC with a list of open projects and states that there is little change to note relative to open projects. She also mentions that during the CPC's November meeting several MOU extension requests may need to be reviewed as several projects have MOU's 2 Community Preservation Committee Meeting Notes October 21, 2021 nearing their termination date. 6. Next steps to update existing Community Preservation Plan Richter relays that Deschamps suggested the possibility of forming a subcommittee to organize edits to the current Community Preservation Plan. McCrory adds that the revised Plan should incorporate feedback received during the recent public hearing held by the CPC to launch the 9th funding rounding round and that perhaps a subcommittee would be useful. Pearl asks if the Plan could be bolstered by including principles that promote sustainability and resilience as the Plan did not previously address those topics and get some clarity as to whether or not CPA funds could be used for these purposes. Deschamps will reach out to the Community Preservation Coalition to ask about use of CPA funds for projects related to sustainability and resilience. Beckwith says that it would be a forward-looking thing to do, using CPC funds, for these types of projects. Pearl recalls that a potential program that would award small CPA grants to the owners of privately-owned buildings with historic significance, outlined by the Beverly Historic District Commission, was discussed at the last CPC and asks if this could be mentioned in the CPC's plan. Richter agrees that this topic never made it to a recent CPC agenda and perhaps should be included. Pearl suggests a joint meeting between the CPC and HDC to discuss further. CPC members discuss the need for guidance regarding the potential funding of projects located on public land that is not permanently protected as either open space or recreational land. Members agree to update a few sections of the CPC Plan with new information, including Public Input and Open Space and Recreation. Pearl thinks that the team should consider postponing the update to the Plan until June 2022 and asks if an annual update is even required. Pearl also asked if it would be helpful to consider including in the Plan a crosswalk between the goals and recommendations of this plan and other relevant plans produced by the City in the recent past in order to align priorities. Pearl also asks if a consultant should be hired to revise the Plan. Deschamps suggests that one way to update the plan is to simply include a summary of the recommendations in other relevant plans into this document. McCrory suggested creating a separate document as an addendum to the existing plan which provides updates to the list of committee members, resources, etc. Beckwith supports the delay of the CPC Plan until next year as well. Members decide to continue this topic until the next meeting on November 18, 2021. 7. Members are Invited to Share Items of Interest to the CPC Buchsbaum asks for an update on the Trustees of Reservations project and whether it will be an out-of-cycle application. Deschamps answers that the project proposed by the Trustees in its pre-application as well as several other potential open space projects remain under consideration by the City. 8. Adiournment Bussone makes a motion to adjourn at 9:16 p.m. Seconded by Pearl. All present members in favor; the motion passes 8-0. The next regular meeting of the Community Preservation Committee will be held on November 18, 2021, and will be held remotely through Google Meet. 3