2013-08-22CITY OF BEVERLY
PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES
BOARD OR COMMISSION
SUBCOMMITTEE:
DATE:
LOCATION:
MEMBERS PRESENT:
MEMBERS ABSENT
OTHERS PRESENT:
RECORDER:
The meeting begins at 7:00 p.m.
Community Preservation Committee
August 22, 2013
City Hall, Third Floor Conference Room B
Wendy Pearl, Marilyn McCrory, Lincoln Williams, Darien
Crimmin, Leland McDonough, Henry Pizzo, John
Thomson and Robert Buchsbaum
Heather Richter
Planning Director Tina Cassidy, Environmental Planner
Amy Maxner, City Engineer Eric Barber
Amy Maxner
Kathy Connolly, City Clerk, states that she will lead members in a group swearing in ceremony.
She provides letters of oath for the members who have not yet been sworn in and asks those
members to stand and raise their right hands to be sworn in. Members read the letter of oath and
sign the Clerk's ledger.
Cassidy welcomes everyone to the meeting and announces that John Dunn from the Beverly
Finance Department is not able to be present at tonight's meeting but will be rescheduled for a
future meeting. Cassidy notes that Maxner has information in regards to the issue of the City
qualifying for matching state funds. Cassidy states that City is not currently eligible for the State
matching funds citing that revenue must be collected prior to State disbursements.
Pearl asks if Dunn is the person who will outline the exemption process. Cassidy confirms this.
The Committee then proceeds to the election of officers. Thomson nominates Pearl for
Committee Chair, stating that during the previous meeting she demonstrated an impressive range
of knowledge and experience. Williams seconded the motion. Cassidy asks if there are any
other potential nominees. Pearl states that she is willing to serve as Chair. Cassidy explains that
the Ordinance calls for electing at least a chair, but notes that a vice chair is always a very good
idea, with perhaps a secretary, which might not be necessary since the Committee will have a
dedicated minutes taker. There are no other nominees. Thomson moves to close nominations
for Chairman of the committee. Williams seconds the motion. The Committee takes a
unanimous vote to close the nominations. Thomson makes motion for Pearl's nomination as
Chair. McCrory seconds the motion. The motion carries 8 -0.
Cassidy asks for nominations for Vice -Chair who would Chair the Committee meetings in the
absence of the Chair. Cassidy states that the default period of service for Chair and Vice -Chair is
two - years. Williams nominates Thomson. Pearl seconds the motion. Cassidy asks if anyone else
is interested. Crimmin states that he is interested in serving. Thomson nominates Crimmin for
Vice - Chair. Pearl seconds the motion. Cassidy asks for motion to close the nominations for
Vice -Chair if there are no more nominations. Williams makes the motion to close the
nominations. Buchsbaum seconds the motion. The motion carries 8 -0.
Thomson withdraws his own nomination to cede the Vice - Chairmanship to Crimmin. Motion to
elect Crimmin as Vice - Chairman made by Thomson. Seconded by Pearl. The motion carries 8-
0.
Cassidy then gives a summary of the Open Meeting Law, Conflict of Interest Law, and the City's
Sexual Harassment Policy. She notes that each document has a signature page that needs to be
signed and returned to Maxner at the Planning Office. In response to a question about emailing
information Cassidy notes the difference between sending information versus deliberation. The
Committee discusses the meaning of deliberation as it relates to the use of email. Thomson
contends that the Committee should err on the side of caution and transparency. McCrory agrees
with this but says she considers sub - comittees to be able to discuss their subject matter without
the activity being considered deliberation since they do not constitute a quorum. Cassidy points
out that the City Council uses numerous sub - committees, which are not considered to have
quorums, however, when they meet they still post a notification of the meeting 48 hours prior.
Crimmin states his concern about limiting the capacity of the Committee to achieve its goals by
restricting itself beyond the constraints of the actual meeting law. McDonugh contends that such
restrictions are necessary from the point of view of legal liability. Crimmin contends that the
emails could be made public at the following meeting. Williams agrees noting that because this
committee has a large sum of money to spend, it will be held to a much higher level of scrutiny.
Pearl points out that an attorney may view that such email exchanges would constitute
"deliberations" for the purpose of the Open Meetings Law.
Buchsbaum notes that in the interest of time it is clear that the Committee will not reach a
consensus on the subject this evening and suggests getting an opinion from the City Solicitor.
After additional discussion, the members agree -to- disagree on the matter, and, unless the City
Solicitor opines otherwise, agree to abstain from communications with each other via email.
Cassidy encourages members to read through the rest of the law that won't be covered tonight.
Cassidy introduces the Conflict of Interest Law to the Committee that prohibits members from
accepting bribes, gratuities, or gifts worth more than $50.00.
Cassidy introduces the Sexual Harassment Policy which she informs the members applies to the
Committee members in the same way it does to City employees.
McCrory notes the need for clarification as to whether there would be a conflict of interest
should one of the Boards or Committee's come with a proposal that a CPC member sits on and if
that CPC member would need to recuse him /herself. Discussion ensues as to instances where
members would need to recuse themselves from deliberations on a project, with Thomson noting
that it would apply if the member is in a position for financial gain or direct decision making.
Cassidy turns the meeting over to Chairperson Pearl.
Community Preservation Committee
08 -22 -13 Meeting Minutes
Page 2 of 4
Crimmin discloses an email correspondence he has had with Eric Barber, City Engineer, in
regards to a City Cemetery project. Eric Barber is present to give an overview of the project. He
states that there is a trust fund donated by a local family that generates about $70,000 per year
towards the improvement and maintenance of landscaping throughout the Central Cemetery.
Discussion ensues regarding the potential for this project and CPA funding.
Pearl asks the Committee to discuss its methods of arriving at decisions and the ultimate goals to
be sought by the Committee. In particular she raises the issue of developing a set of guidelines
or criteria for establishing the Committee's priorities and guide decision - making on specific
applications. The Committee has a general discussion of the content and probable length of a
guidelines document. McCrory talks about using Gloucester's CPC guidelines document as a
template. Pearl points out that Gloucester's 30 -page document comes in discrete sections, which
break down into topics such as objectives, eligibility criteria, budget, etc.
In regards to objectives, Williams states that developing objective criteria from the outset of the
Committee's formation is a tough thing to achieve and could create problems down the road. He
elaborates that keeping the decision process subjective in the beginning allows flexibility and
avoids the dilemma of having to approve a bad project that meets an ill- conceived criteria. Pearl
contends that a primary reason for deciding on guidelines at the outset is so the CPC can provide
the applicants up -front with a means of understanding the difference between a good and bad
project proposals.
After additional discussion among the members, William states that Pearl's initial
recommendation of using Gloucester's objectives and guidelines until such time that this
Committee can determine what works best for Beverly, is a good starting point. Williams
recommends that, between now and the next meeting, the members should generate a list of their
top five criteria for general and each specific category, which they should email to staff for
collation and "word- smithing ", and then the Committee will discuss the results at the next
meeting.
Pearl states that they need to select the next meeting date. The members discuss several potential
dates and agree on September 12, 2013 at 7:00 p.m.
Pizzo departs from the meeting at this time.
Thomson reiterates the homework assignment that, using the Gloucester guidelines as a template,
each member should list their top five objectives, and their top five guidelines, and then send to
staff via email.
Thomson notes his confusion in reading the statute and the Ordinance relative to "setting aside"
funds for future projects. Discussion ensues as to what that language allows, with Pearl noting
that the money can be placed in a dedicated fund that allows emergency land acquisitions or an
affordable housing trust to allow expenditures.
Community Preservation Committee
08 -22 -13 Meeting Minutes
Page 3 of 4
Willams asks about the issue of setting up committees. He also thinks there should be some kind
of "public informative initiative" on the part of the Committee, especially before the CPC begins
to appear as a line -item on the citizens' tax bills.
Crimmin presents the idea of engaging the public in a visioning process where the Committee
presents its goals in a public meeting in the form of an RIP (as opposed to a standard
application), then, allowing the public to comment on it. Pearl questions the use of visioning as a
method as opposed to objective guidelines. Pearl further points out that, in tandem with a public
visioning process, there will be a need to first educate as to what to expect from the Committee
and to what goals are feasible. She further points out that any public visioning process would
have to happen early enough so that the Committee could still meet its six month deadline.
Based on what she's observed with Newburyport's CPC activities, Pearl discusses options for
using some kind of project tracking software (like Excel or Access) to aid in the accounting
aspect of the Committee's activities.
Pearl requests a motion to approve the last meetings minutes. Thomson makes a motion to
approve the minutes from the August 8, 2013 meeting. Bucsbaum seconds the motion. The
motion carries 7 -0.
Pearl asks if everyone had a chance to look at the website. Crimmin asks if the website is set up
so that it will draw the public's attention and promote the Committee's activities. Maxner points
out they are currently using the City's standard website format and appearance. The members
agree to come up with ideas for the website in the interim and will discuss them at the next
meeting.
Pearl states they have completed all business on the agenda. Thomson makes motion to adjourn.
Williams seconds the motion. The motion carries 7 -0.
The meeting adjourned at 8:40 pm.
Community Preservation Committee
08 -22 -13 Meeting Minutes
Page 4 of 4