2013-06-12CITY OF BEVERLY
PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES
BOARD OR COMMISSION: Economic and Community Development Council
SUBCOMMITTEE:
DATE: Wednesday, June 12, 2013
LOCATION: Beverly Public Library, 4 th floor staff conference
MEMBERS PRESENT
MEMBERS ABSENT:
OTHERS:
RECORDER:
room
Chairman Paul Guanci, Vice Chairman Neil
Douglas, Tina Cassidy, Charlene St. Jean, Don
Fournier, Mike Collins
Bill Howard
Mayor William Scanlon
Tina Cassidy
Guanci calls the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.
1. Approval of Minutes
The first order of business is adoption of draft minutes from the Commission's regular
meeting on March 13, 2013 and from the site visit held on April 11, 2013. Guanci asks if
there are any corrections that need to be made to either set of minutes. With respect to
the March minutes, Douglas asks that the spelling of Mr. Penn's name and company
(Halistar Corporation) be corrected and that the first paragraph of the minutes be
reworded to make it clear the roadway to be constructed as part of Phase 1 will be built
west of Brimbal Avenue, not "West Brimbal Avenue ".
Collins: motion to approve the minutes of the March 13, 2013 meeting with the
corrections noted above, seconded by Fournier. All members in favor,
motion carries 6 -0.
Guanci asks if there are any suggested changes to the site visit minutes. There are none.
Fournier: motion to approve the minutes of the April 11, 2013 site visit as drafted,
seconded by Collins. All members in favor, motion carries 6 — 0.
2. Discussion: Update on the Route 128 / Brimbal Avenue interchange
improvement project
Mayor Scanlon addresses the membership and provides a brief update on progress since
the last ECDC meeting in March. The design of the new ramps has now been finalized
and the new connector road between Sohier and Brimbal Avenue will have two
roundabouts rather than traffic signals as initially contemplated. As a result, the State
now knows exactly where the new ramps will be located and it is clear that they will be
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located on land currently owned by Brimbal Ave. Development LLC (formerly CEA
Group). Discussions with representatives of Brimbal Ave. Development LLC have been
on -going for some time and they are willing to "swap" the land needed for the project and
to accept State -owned land immediately adjacent to it in return. Brimbal Ave.
Development LLC is willing to redesign (and relocate) its planned commercial project to
the "new" parcel once the swap is complete.
Scanlon summarizes the process that will be required to effect the land swap which will
involve a Home Rule Petition to the State Legislature. Cassidy asks if it would be helpful
to have a letter of support from the ECDC, similar to the one the Mayor recently obtained
from the City Council. Scanlon states that such a letter would not be required.
Collins mentions that there are several utility lines running through the property now
owned by the State, including a 6" city water line and gas main that traverse the property
and a second city water line that runs parallel to Brimbal Avenue. He states that
provisions for maintenance easements for all these utilities should be secured.
Scanlon promises to keep the committee updated on progress, which is expected to
proceed rapidly over the next few months. If all goes well, construction of Phase 1 will
begin this Fall.
3. Development Scorecard
Cassidy provides brief updates on the new /revised Scorecard entries for this quarter:
• The Beverly Housing Authority has decided not to appeal the recent
decision of the Zoning Board of Appeals, which voted to overturn the
Building Inspector's decision to issue the building permit for construction
of four new units at the Authority's Spring Street site. Cassidy says it is
not likely the Authority will pursue any development plans on this site in
the foreseeable future.
• The former Press Box has been acquired by Windover Construction, and
the SRO units that used to be housed there are now located in a building
on Broadway. Windover has a general plan/desire to redevelop all the lots
it owns on this block in one project but no specific plans have yet been
filed with any city agency.
• Construction of the North Shore CDC's Holcroft Park project is complete,
as is construction of the veterans' housing at 60 Pleasant Street.
Construction of the new mixed use project on the former Enterprise Rent -
a -Car site is underway.
• There are two new project entries this quarter: Cummings Properties has
plans to build a four story 100,000 sq. ft. office building at its recently
acquired site at 50 Dunham Road and the Planning Board public hearing
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on the application is scheduled for June 18 Also, the City recently held
the so- called 25% design public hearing on the Rantoul Street
reconstruction project. The project, which will totally rebuild the entire
roadway from the Beverly /Salem bridge to the Memorial Building will
take about 18 months to complete and the State expects to start
construction in the Summer of 2014.
4. New or Other Business
Guanci announces that the next meeting of the ECDC will be held on Wednesday,
September 11, 2013.
Douglas informs members that he has filed a letter of disclosure with the Mayor
regarding the possibility that Harborlight Community Partners may acquire the
Northridge Homes project and if so, he may be in conflict given some aspects of the
Brimbal Avenue reconstruction project. He intends to remain a member of the ECDC but
may need to recuse himself on certain matters that might relate to either Harborlight or
Northridge.
Guanci asks if there is any other business for the ECDC to conduct this evening. There is
none.
Fournier: motion to adjourn, seconded by St. Jean. All members in favor, motion
carries 6 — 0.
The meeting is adjourned at 6:25 p.m.
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