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CPC Meeting 2023-5-18 minutes Beverly Community Preservation Committee May 18,2023 Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 4 CITY OF BEVERLY PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES BOARD: Community Preservation Committee SUBCOMMITTEE: None LOCATION: Beverly City Hall Council Chambers DATE: May 18, 2023 BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Heather Richter, Vice Chair Derek Beckwith, Suzanne LaMont, Danielle Spang, Robert Buchsbaum, Nancy Marino, Marilyn McCrory BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: Thomas Bussone, Christy Edwards OTHERS PRESENT: Assistant Director of Planning Ken Clawson RECORDER: Naomi Moca 1. Call to order Chair Richter chairs and opens the meeting at 7:01 p.m. 2. Welcome and remarks 3. Community Preservation Plan Status and Updates,if applicable Chair Richter reports that the Committee is required to annually update the plan,which includes updates on administrative items, such as the member list. The Committee discusses relevant items to include in the update, such as a list of projects that were funded when the City Council held votes, completed projects, and current projects. The Committee discusses that it is appropriate to complete the plan update in August 2023 due to having no meeting in July, and due to three members' terms expiring on July 31, 2023. 4. Policy Questions for Consideration (no votes to be taken) a. Feedback from current funding round The Committee discusses that now that recommendations have been submitted to the City Council, it is appropriate to review the process. The Committee discusses offering an opportunity for applicants to consult with the Committee before pre-applications are due, which would help streamline the process by directing projects on City property to meet with the correct City staff member, and by directing applicants to the appropriate Ward Councilor. The Committee discusses having Ward Councilors attend the meetings with projects in their Wards, even virtually if necessary. The Committee discusses timesaving ideas such as using the 15-minute Q&A portion of the meeting for offering advice on projects on City property or using a form letter or email from parties that are interested in discussing aproject. The Committee discusses the issues with the approval process that came to light especially with the pickleball project final application that the Committee approved at the April 2023 meeting, 1 Beverly Community Preservation Committee May 18,2023 Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 4 and agree that the compressed time frame and many changes to the project application put the Committee in a tough position. The Committee members agree that reviewing new material at the same meeting that they are expecting to vote on it is unfair to the members and to the public. The Committee members agree that adding a rule that materials must be submitted at least five days in advance before the meeting, including changes to existing projects, and members discuss how to enforce the rule, such as adding it as a step in the application instructions. The Committee observes that whereas other applicant groups usually work to raise a portion of the needed funding, the Parks and Recreation Department requested the funding for the entire project. The Committee observes that, in some cases, one of the evaluation criteria is that the applicant matches the funding with in-kind services. In the case of the pickleball project, a fundraising tournament and/or offering free lessons for a year would have been appropriate. The Committee discusses that in the case of the pickleball project, the City was the applicant and the City brought some of its own State funding, and that unlike other applicant groups,there is no organized entity such as a"Beverly Pickleball Association"to oversee fundraising. The Committee discusses posting a sign,notice, or plaque that states the Birch Plains pickleball sound mitigation was funded by CPC. The Committee discusses that it is not appropriate for the RFP for a project to go out before the meeting and vote, and that there should not be dates that have already passed. In the case of a phased project that is already underway, such as the Farms Cemetery fence project, it may be acceptable for steps to be out of order. The Committee discusses how to hold applicants, including the City, accountable to finish projects. The members observe that the granite benches at Green's Hill were not complete as of a few months ago,with some materials still in the parking lot, yet the project was closed out. Another similar example is that the work on the Lynch Park carriage house has not begun. The Committee discusses how to hold projects accountable after the funding is approved, such as extending the MOU, requesting a project timeline, requesting periodic reports to the Committee, and requiring the stages of the project to be written into the MOU. The Committee discusses that the Conservation Commission issues a Certificate of Compliance that is a legally binding document to ensure that projects are completed. The Committee discusses hiring a part-time dedicated staff person with the authority of the City to attend to the follow-up work, monitor project sites, update the website, and report to the Committee. Members recall that in the past there have been City employees who were in charge of these duties. Further duties would include: attending all Committee meetings, following up on invoices,keeping track of all phases of the projects, and closing out MOUs. The Committee discusses what portion of the funds would cover a salary and administrative materials, and considers the idea of a full-time Planning Department staff person with half-time dedicated to Committee administrative matters,half funded by CPC funds. The Committee discusses the idea of creating a temporary position with a one-year evaluation, and that it is 2 Beverly Community Preservation Committee May 18,2023 Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 4 appropriate for Wynne to attend the June meeting to discuss it further. Clawson agrees to run the idea by Wynne before the June meeting and observes that the duties may already be covered in the job description of the Associate Planning position that is currently open. The Committee discusses that when a pre-application is submitted, the Committee should ensure that it is submitted under the correct category. The Committee discusses the funding it approved for the preservation of City records, whether funding is for the preservation of data or the physical record book, that the records are in the City Hall vault, and that the vault is going to be overhauled. b. Discuss accepting public comment during project review The Committee discusses ideas such as changing the public comment end date to the date that the Committee votes, accepting public comments at all stages of the deliberation to help inform the decisions of the Committee, which would dovetail with the suggestion to submit materials five days in advance, encouraging public comments without a hard deadline since when the final vote will occur is often unknown, and adding language such as "due" or"closes" for giving comments a time limit. For example, with the pickleball issue, there was no outreach specific to the neighbors due to the City not anticipating any issue. c. Review of grant funding criteria, and update if appropriate The Committee discusses updating the grant funding criteria in view of sustainability and coastal resiliency. The members agree to bring examples that are in line with Plan Beverly suggestions to the next meeting to determine if the original criteria are sufficient. d. Discuss Funding Round 11 schedule and whether to make any changes The Committee discusses that it will not hold a meeting in July, that pre-applications require the City's sign-off in the last week of September, that the public meeting is in September, that the pre-meeting with Ward Councilors is in early October, that the public notice period is after that meeting, and that the final decision is due in December. The Committee discusses whether there is sufficient time for applicants to meet with Ward Councilors. The Committee plans to finalize the schedule at the June meeting and to put it on the website. 5. Administrative Matters a. Member terms expiring end of July The Committee discusses that three members have terms expiring on July 31, 2023: Edwards, McCrory, and Beckwith. Beckwith took over mid-term for the duration of the remaining term and states that he will look into term limits. LaMont states that on the City website her term end date is July 31, 2025 on one page, and April 1, 2025 on another page. Spang states that her term end date is March 2025. The Committee discusses that if Edwards is interested in another term, 3 Beverly Community Preservation Committee May 18,2023 Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 4 she will need to write a letter to the City Council requesting re-appointment. Clawson states that he will communicate with Edwards. b. Election of Officers in August and discussion of Chair term limits The Committee discusses that election of offices will be in August 2023. Richter states that she is in her third one-year term as Chair. c. Revisit/confirm summer meeting schedule The Committee will not meet in the month of July 2023. 6. Approval of minutes a. April 27,2023 Members review and offer edits to the April 27, 2023 draft meeting minutes. Clawson states that he will check the recording to verify two items. The vote is continued to the June 15, 2023 meeting. 7. Adjourn Spang: Motion to adjourn. Marino seconds. The motion carries (7-0). Meeting adjourns at 8:48 p.m. The next meeting will be June 15, 2023. 4