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2014-06-12CITY OF BEVERLY PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES BOARD OR COMMISSION: SUBCOMMITTEE: DATE: LOCATION: MEMBERS PRESENT: MEMBERS ABSENT: OTHERS: RECORDER: Economic and Community Development Council Thursday, June 12, 2014 Beverly City Hall Conference Room Mayor Michael Cahill, Council President Paul Guanci , Neil Douglas, Charlene St. Jean, Don Fournier, Bill Howard, Aaron Clausen, Mike Collins and Michael O'Brien None Rich Marino Eileen Sacco Mayor Cahill calls the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. Discussion/Update: Beverly Designated Port Area (DPA) Clausen reports that the Planning Department submitted the City's Boundary Review request by the office of Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management in April and the request was accepted. He explained that the public process has started. He noted that the 30 day comment period for CZM ended on June 6, 2014. He estimated that the process will take 3 -6 months. Fournier asked if any comments were received during the comment period. Clausen reported that 4 comments were received. One comment in favor, and three comments that expressed concerns about protecting the commercial fisherman, and fishing from the docks. He explains that fishing is allowed primarily from the city docks which are outside of the DPA. Clausen reports that a scoping session will be held in July. He also noted that a zoning amendment is being done in tandem with the DPA review. He reported that another public hearing regarding the zoning will be held on June 26, 2014 at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall. He noted that the city is requesting public comment regarding the rules and regulations and the goals for the area. Clausen reviews the timeline for the process. He noted that the joint public hearing of the Planning Board and the City Council for the Interim Planning Overlay District will be held on June 16, 2014 at 7:20 p.m. at City Hall. Draft ECDC meeting minutes June 12, 2013 Meeting Page I of 5 Discussion: Proposed ECDC Ordinance Amendment Mayor Cahill recalled that at the last meeting there was discussion about expanding the membership of the ECDC and that would require an amendment of the ordinance. He presented a draft of the revised ordinance for the ECDC to review. Mayor Cahill explained that he has asked Rich Marino to sit in on today's meeting as a potential member. The members of the ECDC reviewed the proposed amendments to the ordinance. Bill Howard suggested that the membership have no more than 15 members to give the group some flexibility. The Mayor agreed noting that quorum rules and regulations need to be considered. Mayor Cahill noted that Beverly Main Streets has not been represented on the ECDC and he would see this as an opportunity to include them. Fournier notes that a representative of the higher education community in Beverly is not included in the amendment and it was discussed at the last meeting. He also noted that there was discussion of including a representative of Beverly Hospital as well. Mayor Cahill suggested that there could be ex- officio non - voting members of the group as well. Fournier stated that the members should be Beverly residents. Mayor Cahill agreed noting that they have to be Beverly residents unless they are appointed by the City Council at the Request of the Mayor. Fournier noted that there may be someone who lives outside of Beverly who works at one of the larger institutions and we may not want to lose that connection. Mayor Cahill stated that they would revise the language for the amendment to include a representative of the hospital and higher education. Douglas stated that during the Brimbal Avenue deliberations the ECDC involvement turned out to be counter productive and cautioned that we should avoid potential bias. Mayor Cahill stated that the ECDC is an advisory board on economic issues throughout the city and there are pockets that are important. Fournier stated that affordable housing needs to be a priority noting that rents are too high. Howard noted that all of that is correct and stated that Beverly Main Streets is an important component of the downtown. He also noted that Beverly Farms, North Beverly are important as well and suggested that the group needs to be careful not to put ourselves in a box. Draft ECDC meeting minutes June 12, 2013 Meeting Page 2 of 5 St. Jean agreed noting that she feels that a larger group makes it harder sometimes to get things done. She noted that it should be manageable and broad enough to gather enough input. Douglas reviews the job percentages throughout the city noting that there is more retail in North Beverly than there is in the downtown. He also noted that 35% of all jobs are at Beverly Hospital and 60 -75% are in the Cummings Center. Mayor Cahill suggested that the ECDC have 12 or 13 voting members and suggested an at large member position to be designated for someone with housing background experience. Douglas noted that the basic responsibility of the ECDC is the strategic plan and that is not sufficiently defined in the ordinance. He questioned if that should be explained further. He reported that the group really labored in the past to develop a mission statement that still has a lot of relevance today. He stated that he would be more comfortable starting the with existing mission statement rather than the proposed paragraph. Fournier questioned if the mission statement is relevant to what we need today. Douglas stated that he thinks it is. Mayor Cahill noted that more and more people are working out of their houses and do not need a downtown office. St. Jean agreed noting that some office buildings are offering "rent a desk" opportunities for small businesses. Mayor Cahill suggested that a real estate agent should be included in the ECDC, suggesting Steve Archer as a possible member. St. Jean stated that a real estate representative would be a great addition noting that the have access to a lot of data and information. Mayor Cahill suggested that this could be written in such a way that the positions could be left to fill when the need arises, noting that it would not require an ordinance amendment when the ECDC wants to add someone with a specific expertise. Mayor Cahill stated that he and Clausen will redraft the ordinance and include the mission statement. Douglas suggested that the Mayor may want to make some changes to the mission statement to make some amendments to the roles and objectives. Mayor Cahill stated that he will review it to see if it needs to be refined. Draft ECDC meeting minutes June 12, 2013 Meeting Page 3 of 5 Mayor Cahill explained that the process for the ordinance change requires a public hearing and two readings by the City Council. He explained that he would like to submit the ordinance to the Council for the June 16 meeting and they will schedule a public hearing. Mayor Cahill also suggested that he would invite potential ECDC members to attend the next meeting in July. Discussion: Update on the Route 128 / Brimbal Avenue interchange improvement rp olect Mayor Cahill reported that he has been in contact with Frank DiPaolo to expedite the project. He explained that the drawings are 25% complete and the state has agreed to fund 100 %. He states that the plans were submitted on 6/2 and the city will be holding a public meeting in July to give the public a chance to weigh in on the project. Mayor Cahill reported that he has also met with Steve Cohen of CEA Group and he is moving ahead with his project for the retail plaza which will hopefully include a Whole Foods Store. He stated that he expects that they will submit a project to the Planning Board in September or October of this year. He also noted that they have agreed to work with the City on the appropriate access on Brimbal Avenue. He further noted that this will lay the ground work for Phase II, noting that the interchange is an important project for the full build out with the two round abouts. Mike Collins noted that they will be coordinating access of the driveway openings and noted that they are sorting out an odd range of requests regarding who will be paying for what etc. He explained that Mr. Cohen is looking at constructing four buildings that will include office space with parking underneath the building. Mike Collins reviewed the plan briefly and reported that the Sunoco Station on Brimbal Avenue may be rebuilding. He noted that he would further review the in more detail at the July meeting. Douglas stated that the stakeholders support is critical and noted that Cell Signaling, The Rocci Post, and Lahey Health should be considered in the planning. He noted that he is less concerned about the gas station. Douglas also suggested that it is important to include Cummings as they have a need to embrace Phase II as well. He also explained that the hospital will need access for emergency vehicles on Brimbal Avenue and Sohier road. Mayor Cahill stated that he is concerned about first time traffic and the left turns, noting that he would like to reduce curb cuts as much as possible. He also noted that closing the 128 ramp is a bad idea and he is going to fight that noting that he does not want to lose the ability to get off 128 in that area. Draft ECDC meeting minutes June 12, 2013 Meeting Page 4 of 5 Douglas stated that this project will have a major impact on jobs and job development. Mayor Cahill reviewed the workforce data provided by the Northshore Workforce Investment Board. He noted that they are still working on gathering the under employment data noting that the WIB data is statewide information. Douglas reported that under employment is 20% in Beverly. Clausen suggested that the ECDC look at this over the next couple of meetings. Mayor Cahill agreed and suggested that the agenda for the next meeting include a 45 minute discussion on this and the Brimbal Avenue project. New or Other Business Mayor Cahill reported that the City is in the process of reviewing the McKay School RFP's Next Meeting The next meeting of the ECDC will be on July 10, 2014 at 4:30 p.m. at Beverly City Hall in Conference Room B. Fournier: motion to adjourn, seconded by St. Jean. The motion carries (7 -0). The meeting is adjourned at 6:00 p.m. Draft ECDC meeting minutes June 12, 2013 Meeting Page 5 of 5