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2009-02-02 That the city of Beverly, for value received, waive any and all rights of reversion as establ... Page 1 of 10 Beverly Meeting Minutes From: Fran MacDonald [fmacdonald@beverlyma.gov] Sent: Monday, August 17, 2009 2:40 PM To: minutes@beverlyma.gov Regular Meeting Beverly City Council 7:00, PM February 2, 2009 Roll Call: Councilors Present: John Burke, William Coughlin, Judith Cronin, Patricia Grimes, Kevin Hobin, Donald Martin, D. Wesley Slate, Jr., Maureen Troubetaris, Timothy Flaherty Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag: Led by Councilor Slate Moment of Silence Jack Murray Public Hearings and Public Speakers: 7:15 PM Presentation Mary Rodrick 7:20 PM Public Hearing Beverly Harbor Management Referred to Finance and Property 7:30 PM Mayors Mid Term Address Acceptance of Minutes: Meeting of January 20,2009 Appoi ntments: Presentations, Awards and Memorials: Communications from His Honor the Mayor: #20 February 2, 2009 Honorable City Council City Hall Beverly, MA 01915 Dear Honorable Council: I hereby appoint, subject to your review and recommendation, Ms. Estelle Rand, 14 Central Street, Apt. 2, Beverly, MA 012915, to serve as a member of the Beverly Solid Waste Management Committee. 8/24/2009 That the city of Beverly, for value received, waive any and all rights of reversion as establ... Page 2 of 10 She will fill the unexpired term of Beatrice Mendez who has resigned due to personal reasons. Ms. Rand's appointment will be effective until March 31, 2010. Very truly yours, William F. Scanlon, Jr., Mayor Refer to Public Services #21 February 2, 2009 Honorable City Council City Hall Beverly, MA 01915 Dear Honorable Council: I hereby reappoint, subject to your review and recommendation, the following citizens to serve as members of the Board of Health: Dr. Frank Carbone, Jr. 550 Cabot Street Term to be effective until December 31, 2011 William J. Alpine, Jr. 1 0 Bass River road Term to be effective until December 31,2009 Very truly yours, William F. Scanlon, Jr., Mayor Refer to Public Services #22 February 2, 2009 Honorable City Council City Hall Beverly, MA 01915 Dear Honorable Council: I hereby appoint, subject to your review and recommendation, Ms. Kate Driscoll Derickson, 28 Broadway #6, Beverly, MA 01915, to serve as a member of the Parks and Recreation Commission. She will fill a vacant position and her term will be effective until December 31, 2010. Very truly yours, William F. Scanlon, Jr., Mayor Refer to Public Services #23 8/24/2009 That the city of Beverly, for value received, waive any and all rights of reversion as establ... Page 3 of 10 February 2, 2009 Honorable City Council City Hall Beverly, MA 01915 Dear Honorable Council: I hereby reappoint, subject to your review and recommendation, the following members of the Public Library Board of Trustees: Ms. Alyse Gause 10 Boyles Street John Kelley 39 Williams Street Kevin O'Reilly 6 Mason Street Their terms are to be effective until January 31, 2012. Very truly yours, William F. Scanlon, Jr., Mayor Refer to Public Services #24 STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS Honorable Council and fellow citizens both here in City Hall and home watching on television, good evening and thank you for the opporlunity to speak to you. While I intend tonight to address the state of our city, it bears noting the state of our Commonwealth and indeed our nation. These are very troubling times. Few, if any of us, are immune to the throes of this economy. Jobs are being lost every day, businesses are closing, hard working men and women are losing their savings, their pensions and even their homes. While we largely face these hardships individually, we also face them collectively. State revenues are sharply down and just last week local aid to all the cities and towns across Massachusetts was substantially cut. The challenges we face as a community are great. But my message tonight is not all bad. In fact, there are reasons to be optimistic as we consider those challenges and how we will meet them. · I say this because even in the relatively good times of years past, we have strictly controlled staffing at City Hall, holding our payroll to a level we could sustain in lesser times. · I say this because through sound fiscal management we have conserved modest reserves, which now give us some level of flexibility. · I say this in parlicular because this community has been fair minded about accepting appropriate new growth, and I am confident the community will continue to fairly consider appropriate economic development as a means by which to fund our future. · And I say this because we will, as we always have, find additional ways to improve our productivity. We must In recent days, Governor Oeval Patrick announced immediate, substantial cuts in Local Aid. As I said, state revenues are dramatically down. As jobs are lost, businesses close and assets lose value, income taxes and capital gains taxes follow. Collecting far less taxes than it anticipated, the State cannot give the Aid it promised. In Beverly's case, we will not receive $709,000 of the Local Aid we had budgeted for this fiscal year ending June 30. We intend to address this loss by generating positive variances in the budgets of individual deparlments, restricting overlime to emergencies, leaving job vacancies unfilled, freezing parlicular accounts and taking whatever other actions are necessary. From the School Oeparlment to Public Services, from Public Safety to the Library, it will be a joint efforl, but we will meet the challenge of the present fiscal year. The next fiscal year is more complex. The Governor's present budget for the next fiscal year proposes even larger cuts in Local Aid. But he has also introduced legislation intended to somewhat offset these cuts. He has proposed a municipal relief package which would increase the statewide meals tax by one cent on the dollar, allow local communities the option to collect an additional meals tax of one cent on the dollar and broaden the taxability of telecommunications equipment owned and operated by utility companies. Given the dire financial straits of many cities and towns, I believe the State Legislature will act on some form of a municipal relief package. It is not possible at this time to know exactly what that package will be. Neverlheless, we are now beginning the process of developing next year's operating budget. As we continue that work 8/24/2009 That the city of Beverly, for value received, waive any and all rights of reversion as establ... Page 4 of 10 over the next several months we will get a better idea of the State's intentions and we will take those into account accordingly. We will balance the budget, as we must, but our ability to do that depends in large pari on Beverly's greatest asset - its citizens. We have been able to improve over the past fifteen years our schools, our parks and playgrounds, while installing extensive storm drainage systems, expanding hours and programming at our libraries and our Senior Center, all within balanced budget after balanced budget. There is one main reason for this, and that is the willingness of our citizens to carefully consider appropriate and controlled new growth. Not every proposed project has been approved, but all have been fairly considered in the context of what is best for Beverly. Our continued success depends on our commitment to do just that. There are presently a series of projects under consideration, potential economic development that represents new real estate tax dollars. While every one of these projects may not deserve approval, every one of them deserves our full and fair consideration. Whether you are here tonight or watching at home, please take an interest in the projects at hand. Get behind those that are on balance good for our city, and show your suppori at public hearings, or in calls or letters to your councilors, or in any other ways available. The tax dollars those projects represent will help fund our continuing efforis to improve the city's infrastructure and maintain quality services. In fact, two imporiant proposals are being considered this week, one tonight by the City Council regarding a vacant parcel along Brimbal Avenue. Another tomorrow evening regarding an undeveloped lot along Conant Street at Cherry Hill Drive. In addition to these, there are several other prospective projects worih commenting on. We continue to move closer to constructing the long awaited 500-space parking garage near the Beverly Depot Train Station. You may recall that the Governor himself visited Beverly a few months ago to personally endorse this project. With his suppori and with funding from both the state and federal governments, this garage is now clearly on our horizon and I expect more news in a matter of weeks. I am very excited about what this project will mean for downtown Beverly in the next few years. We are also moving forward on the waterfront. We have identified imporiant infrastructure improvements that will in turn attract private investment in the waterfront's development, investments such as the restaurant at the foot of the Bridge. To pay for these improvements, we are pursuing both traditional State funding and Federal stimulus funding. I am sure you have all heard something about the Federal Stimulus Package, a complex and far reaching Bill of historic proporiions. It has passed the U. S. House of Representatives and is now pending before the U. S. Senate. It is being reporied that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will receive Billions in stimulus funding. How that money will be allocated across the state is as yet unknown, but the Lt. Governor has asked each city and town to identify infrastructure projects that will be shovel ready within 180 days of the Stimulus plan's passage. In response, we identified four projects meeting that criteria. They are: 1.) A police station at Cummings Center on land owned by the city. The police station would be designed and constructed in a manner that would allow the addition of a fire station in the event the City decides a Public Safety Facility makes more sense than separately housing police and fire as we presently do. We estimate the cost of this project would be $11.5 Million. The Waterfront infrastructure improvements which I discussed moments ago. We estimate the cost of those to be $6 Million. Desirable elements of the High School project which were not eligible for MSBA funding and are, therefore, not presently pari of the project. Most notably, the athletic fields and their attendant stands and bathroom facilities. We estimate the cost of these to be $8 Million. The Norih Beverly Brook Drainage Project which has already been approved by this City Council at a cost of $4 Million. At this time, there is no way to tell which, if any, of these projects will be funded. As a member of the Lt. Governor's Task Force on Municipal Projects, I am working hard to personally present the case for Beverly, as well as her sister cities. I believe our chances of obtaining the funds for one or more of these shovel ready projects are as good as anyone's. Additionally, there is reason to believe there will be a second round of construction funding for projects which do not meet the 180-day shovel ready criterion. Reconstruction of the Brimbal Ave/Route 128 interchange is such a project. That reconstruction, which would remove significant amounts of the traffic on Brimbal A venue, would improve safety on the roads, improve the quality of life in surrounding neighborhoods and reduce fuel consumption. We believe that with strong cooperation from MA Highway officials we could have this project shovel ready in 15 months. So, while stimulus funding is a one-time shot in the arm which will not help us sustain our budgets, it may give us the opporiunity to move some very substantial projects forward. One project on which we are moving forward irrespective of Federal funding is our high school. As you all know, we recently began the renovation of our high school. Intended to provide generations to come an inspiring learning environment, this project is absolutely essential to ensuring our high school accreditation and protecting the values of our homes. It is the largest municipal project in Beverly's history, but we are paying less than half its cost. As most of you know, we secured State funding for 58% of this project and I'd like to publicly thank the people in my Administration who worked so hard to do that. And despite the difficulties of these times, this is not the only good news to share this evening. The process of integrating school maintenance functions within the Depariment of Public Services is underway and going well. The School Committee and School administration are working hard at developing next year's school budget and are making progress. One of the reasons for that is the equitable contract recently agreed to by the teachers. In making concessions on their health insurance plan and accepting a modest 2% raise in each of the next 3 years, the teachers clearly recognized the strain this and every city is presently under, and I publicly thank them for that. The exciting regional concept of joint dispatch is close to becoming reality. Within a matter of weeks we expect the Governor will announce grant funding to establish a joint dispatch center at the Middleton jail location to serve thirieen Norih Shore communities 2.) 3.) 4.) 8/24/2009 That the city of Beverly, for value received, waive any and all rights of reversion as establ... Page 5 of 10 including Beverly. By joint I mean that when up and running all police, fire and emergency dispatch operations for these 13 communities will be done from one location by trained civilian dispatchers. We expect this initiative to grow to cover all of Essex County and provide a blueprint for statewide adoption. The Montserrat College of Arl, so vital to our downtown, has made a very substantial investment in the city in the form of beautiful new dormitories. The college's better financial standing augurs well for an institution that brings a youthful vibrancy to the shops and restaurants up and down Cabot Street and beyond. Endicott College continues to beautify its own campus, presently nearing the completion of its Center for the Visual and Performing Arls that will bring to Beverly performances as lofty as the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Recognizing its responsibilities as a good citizen, the college has agreed to contribute $110,000 per year to the City for each of the next three years. In fact, we have already received the bulk of the 2009 contribution. We continue to make gains in recycling. Last year the tons of trash tipped at the incinerator was furlher reduced by 700 tons bringing the total reduction over the past two years to 4200 tons annually a 23% reduction from the level of 2006. I know that recycling can be tedious and time consuming and perhaps that is why many of our households do not yet recycle. To those that do "Thank you very much." To the others I say, "Please join." Please join your neighbors in helping our community save money that would be better spent on schools or roads or public safety equipment. When you put recyclables in the trash, you are wasting everyone's tax money, including your own. We must save money whenever possible and remember these savings currently at $300,000 annually are very imporlant. So as I said earlier, while the challenges we face as a community are great, we have reason to believe we will meet them. Like every other city and town across the Commonwealth, we may struggle through the coming year and perhaps beyond. But together, we will get to the other side, because although my address tonight is about the State of the City, it's also about the state of the community, and ours is strong. I am privileged to be your mayor and forlunate to have your supporl. That supporl has enabled me and my administration to accomplish the kinds of things I've touched upon tonight but there is more to do and I would like to do it. For that reason, this coming November I will ask the good people of Beverly for the privilege of serving them another term. I hope you will supporl my re-election efforl this fall and I thank you for your attention this evening. Receive and Place on File Communications from Other City Officers and Boards: #25 January 16, 2009 The Honorable City Council City Hall, 191 Cabot Street Beverly, MA 01915 RE: REQUESTS FOR CREATION OF ON-STREET HANDICAPPED PARKING SPACES Dear Honorable Council: At its January meeting, the Parking and Traffic Commission discussed the matter of requests the City Council periodically receives relative to creating on-street handicapped parking spaces on City roads. The Commission is aware that many of these requests are time- sensitive and that the City Council wants to handle such requests in as expeditious a manner as possible. The City Ordinance regulating the Parking and Traffic Commission requires the Council to seek the Commission's recommendation prior to making any regulations pertaining to parking and traffic, and that would include requests to create on-street handicapped parking spaces. Since meeting schedules and workloads can result in a one or two month wait for a recommendation from the Commission, its members sought to find a better approach. To that end, Parking and Traffic Commission Vice-Chairman Joe Shairs worked with the City's ADA Coordinator Art Daignault over the last month to develop a more streamlined process for reviewing such requests and making recommendations to the City Council for its consideration. The Commission reviewed and discussed their proposal at its meeting earlier this month, and voted unanimously to support their proposed review process and recommend the Council's concurrence with it. In summary, the Commission supports a procedure where the Traffic Safety Officer acts on behalf of the Commission with respect to future requests for the creation of on-street handicapped parking spaces. The Traffic Sergeant/Safety Officer would work directly with the ADA Coordinator to review individual requests and provide a recommendation to the City Council. The process would involve a simple application form (but no filing fee) and submission of proof that the person requesting the parking space has a valid disabled placard/plate 8/24/2009 That the city of Beverly, for value received, waive any and all rights of reversion as establ... Page 6 of 10 issued by the State's Registry of Motor Vehicles. The Commission wholeheartedly supports this suggested application process, not only because it will expedite such requests in the future but also because it will give the City a mechanism to track the existence of these spaces over time. As the process presently works, the City does not keep a list of on-street handicapped parking spaces that it authorizes and does not periodically check that list to ensure that the spaces are still needed on a case-by-case basis. Mr. Daignault has since created a list of on-street handicapped spaces for the City's use, and the Commission's vote of recommendation included a provision that the Commission review the list twice a year to ensure it is kept up to date. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions relative to the Commission's recommendation. Respectfully, Richard Benevento, Chairman Refer to Legal Affairs #26 Comm. from Beverly Airport commission re Building54 Lease modification and Addition to City council order 273 of 08 Refer to Legal Affairs Communications, Applications and Petitions: #27 Request to waive City Ordinance relative to alcohol in public building Feb. 10, 2009 Recommend approval of the Request #28 Application Second Hand Junk Dealers License-Anthony Linares, Jr. for Marconi Radio - Refer to Legal Affairs #29 (Late File) Communication from City Planner relative to the Special Permit Process Receive and Place on File Regorts from Committees: #8 The Committee on Finance and Property to whom was referred the matter of transfer re Beverly Harbor Management Authority have considered said matter and beg leave to report as follows, to wit: Submit the accompanying order and recommend its adoption 8/24/2009 That the city of Beverly, for value received, waive any and all rights of reversion as establ... Page 7 of 10 Ordered: That the City Council approve the request for a transfer in the amount of one hundred thousand ($100,000) dollars from account "Free Cash" to "Beverly Harbor Management Authority" for the completion of design work relative to the waterfront area. First Passage: Public Hearing: Final Passage: Jan. 20, 2009 Feb. 2, 2009 Feb. 2, 2009 Order read once and adopted Held by Councilor Burke #194A - 08 The Committee on Legal Affairs / Committee of the Whole to whom was referred the matter of Communication from Parking and Traffic Commission relative to Traffic concerns on Boyle and Cole Streets have considered said matter and beg leave to report as follows, to wit: Receive and Place on File Order read once and adopted 9-0 Vote #230-08 The Committee on Legal Affairs to whom was referred the matter of request for rezoning 140 Brimbal Ave have considered said matter and beg leave to report as follows, to wit: Submit the Accompanying Ordinance and recommend its adoption In the Year Two Thousand and Nine An Ordinance amending an ordinance entitled Zoning Be it ordained by the city council of the City of Beverly Amend the City of Beverly Zoning Ordinance as follows: Amend the official City of Beverly Zoning District Map as follows: Create within the IR Zoning District a new overlay district designated as the "IR Overlay" district, comprised of the following: City of Beverly Tax Assessor Map 55 Lots 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 29, 30; and Map 56 Lots 20, 20A. Add the following definitions to Section 29-2.B and renumber all definitions according Iv: Mixed Use - Two or more compatible uses on a single parcel pursuant to a single development plan which may include, without limitation, office, retail, residential, medical, educational, recreational and/or civic uses. Shared Parking - A parking arrangement within a Mixed Use development which allows for the sharing of parking spaces by more than one use, each with different parking occupancy demand patterns. Revise title of Sec 29-19 to read "29-19IR and IR Overlay - Restricted Industrial, Research and Office District Add the following sentences to Section 29-19.A: The IR Overlay district is established to provide principally for mixed use commercial development within the IR district. Lots zoned "IR Overlay" on the official City zoning map shall be subject to all of the provisions of the IR district, unless specifically provided otherwise. Add the following to the end of Section 29-19.C: The following uses are only allowed by Special Permit, granted by the Planning Board, and only for lots zoned "IR Overlay" on the official City zoning map: a. Retail establishments 8/24/2009 That the city of Beverly, for value received, waive any and all rights of reversion as establ... Page 8 of 10 b. Restaurant selling food both for consumption on and off the premises c. Dwellings in a Mixed Use development d. Gymnasium, health club, indoor commercial swimming pool e. Personal and consumer service establishments including, but not limited to, barber or beauty shop and laundromat Add the following sentence to the end of Section 29-19.D.2: The Planning Board may authorize, by Special Permit, an increase in impervious lot coverage to 750/0 for lots zoned "IR Overlay" on the official City zoning map, and only for lots that satisfy the minimum lot area requirement in the IR District as provided above. Add the following subsection to the end of Section 29-19.E.1: The Planning Board may modify the parking requirements for lots zoned "IR Overlay" on the official City zoning map in accordance with Section 29-25.F below. Add the following subsection to the end of Section 29-19.F: "That one freestanding sign of no more than 35 square-feet and no more than 15-feet above grade identifying multiple users shall be permitted for a Mixed use development on a lot zoned "IR Overlay" on the official City zoning map." Add the following subsection to the end of Section 29-19.G: 2. For lots zoned "IR Overlay" on the official City zoning map, Site Plan Review by the Planning Board will be required for any development requiring a Special Permit. Add the following to the end of Section 29-31 : D. IR Overlay District The IR Overlay district is established to provide principally for mixed use commercial development within the IR district. See Section 29- 19. Add the following subsection to the end of Section 29-25: F. Shared Parking in Lots Zoned "IR Overlay" 1. In a Mixed Use development on a lot zoned "IR Overlay" on the official City zoning map, the number of required parking spaces shall be as provided above in this Section 29-25, unless in performing Site Plan Review or in acting on a Special Permit, the Planning Board determines that a lesser number of spaces would be adequate for all parking needs because of special circumstances such as shared parking for uses having peak parking demands at different times or other measures reducing parking demand. 2. When considering shared parking, the following method will be used to determine the appropriate parking requirements. Multiply the minimum parking requirement for each individual use, as set forth in Section 29-25, by the listed percentage, as set forth below in the Schedule of Parking Occupancy Rates, for each of the five designated time periods and then add the resulting sums from each vertical column. The column total having the highest total value is the minimum shared parking space requirement for that combination of land uses. 3. Schedule of Parking Occupancy Rates I I I Residential IManufacturing, Assembly, I Weekday I Night Midnight to 7:00 a.m. II 1 000/0 II II 5% II Day 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. 600/0 1 000/0 Evening 6:00 p.m. to Midnight 900/0 1 00/0 IIweekend Day 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. II 800/0 II II 10% II Evening 6:00 p.m. to Midnight 900/0 50/0 8/24/2009 That the city of Beverly, for value received, waive any and all rights of reversion as establ... Page 9 of 10 Iprocessing I IBusiness and Professional Office 50/0 1 000/0 1 00/0 1 00/0 50/0 I IRetail Establishment 50/0 800/0 900/0 1 000/0 700/0 I IHotel 700/0 700/0 1 000/0 700/0 1 000/0 I IRestaurant 1 00/0 500/0 1 000/0 500/0 1 000/0 I I,Eating and meeting facilities II 1 00/0 500/0 600/0 500/0 600/0 I associated with Hotel IAuditorium, Theater 1 00/0 400/0 1 000/0 800/0 1 000/0 I ISchool, Day-care facilities 50/0 1 000/0 1 00/0 200/0 50/0 I IAII other 1 000/0 1 000/0 1 000/0 1 000/0 1 000/0 I 4. Prior to issuance of an Occupancy Permit for shared parking, the owner(s) of a Mixed Use development shall have in their possession and readily available for review by the Building Commissioner a reciprocal agreement executed by the owners and operators of the different sources or uses in the development ensuring the long term joint use of such shared parking, and defining the terms upon which the parking is shared. In the event that the conditions (such as a change in use) for shared parking change, or if the shared parking arrangement is discontinued, the owner(s) shall notify the Building Commissioner within 10 days of such change or discontinuance. If the Building Commissioner determines that a modification of the Special Permit is required and the owner(s) fails to apply to the Planning Board for such modification within sixty (60) days of such determination, or if modification of the Special Permit is not granted by the Planning Board within ninety (90) days of application therefor, then the Building Commissioner shall require the owner(s) to comply with all applicable parking requirements. Noncompliance with this section may result in the revocation of Occupancy Permits for the violating uses. Ordinance read once and held for final passage as per charter provisions 8-1 Vote Councilor Martin voting against #9 The Committee on Legal Affairs / Committee of the Whole to whom was referred the matter of Reappointment Planning Board, Charles Harris considered said matter and beg leave to report as follows, to wit: Recommend the Council approve the appointment Order read once and adopted 9-0 Vote #14 The Committee on Legal Affairs / Committee of the Whole to whom was referred the matter of application Class II Motor Vehicle Dealers License, Ronald Cordette, d/b/a Beverly Autotop and Upholstery have considered said matter and beg leave to report as follows to Wit: Recommend the License be Granted Order read once and adopted 9-0 Vote #11 The Committee on Public Services / Committee of the Whole to whom was referred the matter of Appointment Solid Waste Management Committee Julie Desilva have considered said matter and beg leave to report as follows, to wit: Recommend the council approve the appointment 8/24/2009 That the city of Beverly, for value received, waive any and all rights of reversion as est... Page 10 of 10 Order read once and adopted 9-0 Vote #12 The Committee on Public Services / Committee of the Whole to whom was referred the matter of reappointment Solid Waste Management Committee of Mary Rodrick, Barbara Papish and John Swain have considered said matter and beg leave to report as follows, to wit: Recommend the Council approve the appointments Order read once and adopted 9-0 Vote Unfinished Business: Motions and Orders: Meeting adjourned: 9: 15 PM Frances A. Macdonald, CMC City Clerk 8/24/2009