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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