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09-14-17 CPC MinutesCITY OF BEVERLY PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES COMMITTEE /COMMIS SION SUBCOMMITTEE: DATE: LOCATION: Community Preservation Committee September 14, 2017 Beverly City Hall, 191 Cabot Street MEMBERS PRESENT: Wendy Pearl — Chair, Marilyn McCrory — Vice - Chair, Robert Buchsbaum, Thomas Bussone II, Christy Edwards, John Hall, James Matz, Heather Richter MEMBERS ABSENT: Nancy Marino OTHERS PRESENT: Amy Maxner — Environmental Planner RECORDER: Travis Lovett Pearl calls the meeting to order at 7:00pm. Pearl reports that CPA Round 4 recommendations went to City Council in early September and there was a public hearing on September 5, 2017. City Council members had several questions, Pearl said. There was a request for a status update of all approved CPA projects to date. McCrory noted that Scott Houseman asked for the CPC to document projects where the state provides matching funds. Pearl said City Council members also had questions about funding housing projects. Pearl said they would attach a cover letter which includes messaging about whether or not the City Council would want more frequent reporting from the CPC. McCrory said City Council wanted specific information about the budget and matching funds solicited from the state. McCrory said there were requests for categorizing CPA projects by year and the category of funding source to include housing, open space, historic preservation, and rehabilitation projects. Pearl said the city council asked about where the housing projects are. Updates from Staff /Chair Maxner notes that Bryant Ayles provided a draft FYI budget today and provides copies to members. Maxner said the CPC should dictate where the bond payment should come from for Camp Paradise. Pearl asks if there should be another line about bond payments in the budget. McCrory said open space projects tend to be very expensive, which is why they needed to keep an adequate reserve. Bussone said he is in favor of keeping 10% of the annual budget available for open space applications and that the bond payment should come out of the general budget Community Preservation Committee September 14, 2017 Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 4 reserve. Bussone said a big project could take up the general budget reserve funding. McCrory notes that the state match will be lower and this should be adjusted on the budget sheet. Pearl said they would ask Bryant to come back with a revised budget proposal with items as discussed. Maxner and Pearl are going to the CPA seminar on September 21st to meet with other City CPA committees and share experiences and other aspects of CPA on City levels. Pearl said topics will cover historic easements and typical issues that the CPC would deal with. Maxner notes the out -of -cycle Housing Plan is complete and posted electronically on the City of Beverly Planning Department Web site. The MOU expired on September 1st. Maxner reports that Planning Director Aaron Clausen has inquired whether or not CPC members would want their own copy of a Plan. Pearl said she would be willing to have the CPC purchase three copies of the Plan for residents to check out at the library or have on hand in the Planning Department. Members agree that printing up to 3 copies can be paid for through Admin funds, but remaining award balance should be re- deposited in CPA fund account. Edwards said there still is not a sign at Ellis Square advertising the use of CPA funds. Edwards wanted to search the meeting minutes highlighting the agreement of signage at Ellis Square. Buchsbaum said he didn't see any signage at Dane Street Beach playground. Richter said she did not see signage at Obear Park. Review and Evaluation of Remaining 4 Round 2017 CPA Project Funding Applications William & Patricia Haight — William Livermore House Roof & Windows Restoration Bussone said he would like to have more information about preservation restrictions for private properties. Bussone said his immediate reaction was to say no to this project. Maxner said that another commission in Cambridge funds private projects with the Cambridge CPC providing funds to a trust. Pearl said there could be some kind of recapture clause to ensure that city funding is properly used. Bussone said the investment could be protected with a step -by -step process. Pearl said a staff person would likely need to be hired. Pearl said they would not want to burden the planning department with a plan of this kind. Buchsbaum said this is the first application of its kind. Pearl said Cambridge has documented every property in the city. Edwards said having some kind of funding cap for privately owned properties and a way to protect the public's investment in the project would be favorable to her. Pearl said she would follow up with the Historic District Commission. Habitat for Humanity — Property quisition Funds Edwards said Habitat for Humanity applied in the wrong category and that the application was not well - developed, given the consultation they had to prepare the project. Edwards asked if there was a feedback loop between the Beverly Housing Trust and the CPC. McCrory said there were questions about the review criteria. McCrory said it seems unlikely that the Housing Trust would fund small -scale housing projects and McCrory is uncomfortable with giving up the authority to make decisions that could benefit the community. Bussone said he is concerned Community Preservation Committee September 14, 2017 Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 4 about giving other committees the right to spend CPC money. Pearl said she would like to support groups like Habitat for Humanity and that the CPC could provide greater context for funding requests within the support category, but that the acquisition category is problematic as Habitat for Humanity does not have a specific property ready to purchase. Matz said the properties that Habitat for Humanity would pursue are typically off the market in 3 -5 days. The Habitat for Humanity application does not include clear criteria for purchasing homes and it also does not provide history or context related to projects on the North Shore, Pearl said. Pearl said the CPC could develop more criteria for the support category. Edwards notes that the Pre -App determination specifically called out "support" as the purpose for which this type of request could be awarded CPA funding, and it would be difficult to rationalize awarding CPA money acquisition category. Maxner notes that with the Housing Trust now up and running, this might be a good alternative for Habitat. With that said, the CPC would still be willing to perhaps consider a future application that allows for "support" activities provided that the activities are eligible for CPA funding. Edwards motions to approve the Habitat for Humanity application. Richter seconds the motion. The motion fails 0 -7 -1 (0 in favor, 7 opposed, 1 abstention), due to the application not meeting the application criteria for acquisition. McCrory abstains from voting. Members agree that the applicant could come in for an application that gears toward "support" activities in the future. Maxner said that a draft set of housing guidelines has been established and the Beverly Housing Trust is still working out the details. Recreation Department — Lynch Park Carriage House Walls & Windows Restoration Edwards suggests tabling this project in favor of seeing the final study. Pearl said at some point they will be in Round 5, so they could carry this project over to the next round. Pearl said they have not seen a report to inform the next steps for the restoration. Edwards said a Round 5 application for the Lynch Park project could be much more comprehensive. McCrory said the plan may indicate different work than what was in the Round 4 application. Matz said the interior wall collapse created a sense of urgency for the project. Pearl said there is no framework to understand the context of the work needed. Bussone motions to deny funding the project due to the lack of the study, inability to determine if work is compliance with the Secretary of the Interior standards and that it received a low score against the Committee's criteria. Buchsbaum seconds the motion. The motion carries 6 -0 -1 to deny funding (6 in favor of denial, 0 opposed, 1 abstention). (McCrory abstained from voting.) Round 5 CPA Application Process McCrory notes that the CPC has wanted to coordinate with fiscal year cycles with the City Council and notes that Round 5 would need to be bumped up this year to do so. She has mapped Community Preservation Committee September 14, 2017 Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 4 out a proposed timeframe for the Round 5 CPA application process for the Committee's consideration as follows: • Issue a press release advertising the CPA pre- application process and public hearing for October: advertisements for hearing will go out the weeks of September 28 and October 5, 2017 • Hold a public hearing: Thursday, October 12, 2017 • CPC October meeting: October 19, 2017 • October Historic District Commission meeting: October 25, 2017 • CPA pre - application deadline: November 9, 2017 • CPC November meeting: November 16, 2017 • CPC 2nd November meeting (if needed): November 30, 2017 • CPC application eligibility announcements: December 1, 2017 or earlier • CPA full funding applications due: January 11, 2018 • CPC January meeting: January 18, 2018 • CPC application deliberations: January — April, 2018 • CPC makes final recommendations to the City Council by April 26, 2018 • City Council votes on CPA: May 7, 2018 and May 21, 2018 (if needed) There are anywhere from 12 to 15 applications in a typical application cycle, Pearl said. Pearl said the CPC could articulate more guidelines for organizational support and criteria. Pearl encouraged organizations to come in to meet if they apply for the "support category." Pearl said they could not make that meeting mandatory. Members review this new timeline and agree that this year should be bumped up to parallel fiscal year. Maxner will prepare the necessary materials, press releases and legal ads and do an email shout out to regular applicants to alert them of the new timeline. Meeting Adjournment and Next Meeting Bussone motions to adjourn the meeting. Matz seconds the motion. The motion carries 6 -0. The meeting adjourns at 9:05pm. The next CPC meeting will be held at Beverly City Hall on October 19, 2017 at 7:00pm. Community Preservation Committee September 14, 2017 Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 4