Loading...
03-15-18 CPC MinutesCITY OF BEVERLY PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES COMMITTEE /COMMISSION: Community Preservation Committee SUBCOMMITTEE: DATE: March 15, 2018 LOCATION: Beverly City Hall, 191 Cabot Street MEMBERS PRESENT: Wendy Pearl, Tom Bussone, John Hall, Christy Edwards, Nancy Marino, Heather Richter, Robert Buchsbaum MEMBERS ABSENT: Marilyn McCrory, James Matz OTHERS PRESENT: Amy Maxner — Environmental Planner; Bill Lowd - Beverly Golf and Tennis; David Dionne - Beverly Golf and Tennis; Kevin McCarthy - YMCA of the North Shore; Sue Goganian - Historic Beverly; Bob Butterworth — RE: Cove Tennis Courts; Steve Gleason & Andrew DeFranza - Harborlight Community Partners; Emily Hutchings — Associate Planner, Suzanne LaMont — Historic District Comm /Ward 2 Civic Assoc. RECORDER: Travis Lovett Pearl calls the meeting to order at 7:00pm. Consultation and O & A with CPC Butterworth takes the opportunity during the public comment time to address CPC members about his concerns related to playgrounds, tennis courts, and basketball courts in the city. He said Beverly is home to the second oldest indoor tennis facility in the country and many of the outdoor courts have been neglected, he said. Butterworth said repairs have been neglected and said there is a lot of complicity to go around. Pearl said maintenance is not funded through the Community Preservation Act. Pearl said Pete's Park was a rehabilitation project to bring the park up to code. Pearl said anyone can apply for CPA funding and encouraged Butterworth to pursue funding through a local group if he has concerns. Butterworth said projects are rubber stamped without doing due diligence. Marino said she takes exception to Butterworth's comments and said the CPC is very thoughtful in evaluating projects and has funded many projects proposed by the Beverly Recreation Department. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been appropriated to recreation projects, Marino said. YMCA Cabot Housing Project Andrew DeFranza and Kevin McCarthy address the CPC. Pearl notes that there is a LLC identified in the YMCA project, and there are concerns about CPA funds being used to support religious institutions in any way. DeFranza said the YMCA project would be funded through a Community Preservation Committee March 15, 2018 Meeting Minutes Page I of 5 low- income housing tax credit, which creates a subsidiary to hold a single - purpose entity. The YMCA is a parent company, but this particular real estate is owned by a limited liability corporation (LLC). The majority owner of the LLC is the people who invest in low- income housing tax credits. The YMCA is the majority holder of the balance of the LLC and they oversee the operation. Harborlight Community Partners is a minority owner. The LLC holds the asset, DeFranza said. The YMCA is a 501(c) 3 organization. McCarthy said there is no reference to religion in the Y's mission statement. DeFranza said they would probably have a nondiscrimination clause in their mission language. Maxner asked about the nature of the on -site counseling. The service dimension is having multiple service providers based inside the building, DeFranza said. Formerly homeless individuals will have their own specific services. They will have Northeast Arc to provide developmental services to help folks with developmental disabilities. The case manager that is on site is employed within the LLC. From an operating standpoint, these safeguards ensure that there are on site services available to residents for a long time, DeFranza said. Hall said they also discussed concerns about historical integrity of the building. McCarthy states the Beverly Historic District Commission had to be consulted about how to handle the windows and potential removal of the squash court from the top of the building. DeFranza said the Massachusetts Historic Commission will review all historic aspects. Marino asked what criteria would be used to select residents and who will be the determining agency. Funding from the state dictates how people are screened, DeFranza said. Income is the biggest lens, but they also conduct a criminal screening and a credit check, DeFranza said. He said the mayors of Peabody, Salem, and Beverly have an agreement to provide local housing preference to residents from these three communities. The state government dictates the process, DeFranza said. Hale Farm Landscape Restoration Pearl notes that in the discussion of the Hale Farm Landscape Restoration application, two concerns were raised: reconstruction of the terrace of the deck and the capacity of the project managers to take on the project. Richter said she also had questions about whether or not beech trees are a short-lived species. Goganian notes that she could not find any reference to the beeches being short lived, which they are not. She explains the south terrace and the porch are based on the photo documentation and existing patio footprint. She notes that Bill Finch provided some specs based on his review of existing information in 2002 and 2003. Pearl asked if the 5t' Round funding would be related to funding the drawings for the porch. Goganian said funds will be used for developing the drawings of the porch and building it. Pearl said the $87,000 funding request includes design drawings and building it, with Goganian confirming. Goganian said the beech trees live a long time — often over a century. The beech tree behind the Cabot House is over 100 years old, Goganian said. Goganian offers to provide a letter saying that the board had the financial capacity to carry out of the project and she said past projects haven't been extended due to financial reasons. Landscape projects can often only happen at certain points of time during the year, Goganian said. Community Preservation Committee March 15, 2018 Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 5 Goganian notes that the estimates in the budget are verbal estimates which have held true for the previous phases of work. She notes that Desmond Landscaping and Sylvan Nurseries provided estimates for walkways and plantings. The plant list should be ready to go in the next week, Goganian said. Edwards asked if there would be a site plan. Goganian said the plan includes details about fencing and plantings. The plan includes a drawing and a narrative that is pretty comprehensive, Goganian said. Buchsbaum asked about plantings being appropriate to history of the property. Goganian said the plantings would coincide with what was known to exist at the beginning of the 20t' century but choosing low maintenance species as there will be a volunteer group to help with maintenance. She will share an updated plan and plant list with Maxner in the next couple weeks. Beverly Golf and Tennis Commission - Complete Architectural Assessment & Analysis Pearl said there is a general sense from CPC members that they don't know how Beverly Golf and Tennis would use 5t' Round CPA funding and what exactly the product would look like. Maxner said the vagueness of the application leads to the vagueness of the questions. Lowd said they want to develop a master plan for the clubhouse and the major system. Lowd said they want to protect the building from catastrophic failure and they are hoping to have a set of specifications to guide their work. Lowd said they want to have a blueprint for all major systems and the preservation of the exterior of the building. Lowd anticipates that renovations would cost about $5.1 million based on the letter from Herry at the end of the application. Gelineau explains that the State requires an OPM with the cost of the project. He notes that they forwarded the RFP for the airport building OPM. Lowd said the OPM cost is about 3 percent of the total estimated cost of construction. The architect cost is about 7 -8 percent of the total project cost. Beverly Golf and Tennis would cover $100,000 of the cost and they are seeking $400,000 over two years to support the work. Lowd said it would take two years to complete all work. Bussone asked about how they are getting $5 million for the project construction phase. Gelineau states that Finance Director Bryant Ayles has said the project is feasible, but they can't say what is likely to happen three or four years down the road with elections every two years. Lowd said the Club generates about $410,000 per year for the enterprise fund. The management firm that maintains operations of the facility has two more years on their current contract. Pearl asked what the vision is for the use of the property. Lowd said there is a food facility at the club now. Lowd explains that with the elevator and ADA upgrades completed, these improvements have helped to increase the number of events and the calendar is full, Lowd said. The facility is open to the community and the restaurant is open year- round. Lowd said the overall objective is to maintain the property's historic character per the Preservation Restriction. Pearl reads from McCrory's email as she could not attend this evening, noting McCrory had concerns about the city investment for $400,000 for a very vague project. She notes that the GAR Hall study provided very good guidance and may be template for the BG &T to follow. Pearl said it is very hard to evaluate whether or not the project /designs meet the Secretary of the Interior Standards. Pearl said she did not know if the CPA can fund an OPM. Massachusetts General Law said if there are costs are above $1.5 million, they have to hire an owner's project manager to assist in hiring the architect, and then assist the property owners as they build the project. Pearl said Community Preservation Committee March 15, 2018 Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 5 getting to 25% schematic design by next July could help Beverly Golf and Tennis to complete the project. Lowd said it may be possible for Beverly Golf and Tennis Commission to fund an OPM with their contributions. Bussone asked Lowd and Dionne to provide details about increased usage of the facility with recent renovations. Bussone said a renegotiated contract with a management company could yield all of the funding needed to make improvements at the facility. Dionne said the golf course revenues are very economy- driven. Lowd and Gelineau agree to investigate additional matching money from the City side and get stats on increased revenues from functions, and the CPC will ask Maxner to inquire with the CPA Coalition as to the eligibility of an OPM. Voting on Round 5 Applications Pearl turns attention to the updated fund balance sheet and members review reserves in each CPA category and general fund. Pearl notes the grand total of available funds for CPA distribution is roughly $1.76 million. Maxner notes that the general reserve account includes the administrative costs set aside and that the general reserve can be used for any type of project. Marino asks if the Beverly Housing Trust has made any requests for CPA monies to be transferred to their account. Maxner states not yet, but the Trust will want to have a conversation with the CPC on that front as some point in the future. Pearl notes the CPC is not mandated to fund the housing trust. Harborlight Community Partners — Hardy Street Housing Pearl asks if there is any discussion or questions remaining. Bussone asks if CPA funding can be contingent upon other sources of monies coming through. Pearl notes that the CPC often requires CPA money to be the last in and it can be a condition of funding. She notes that if any funding source falls through Harborlight will not be able to do the project. Bussone motions to approve full funding for the Hardy Street project in the amount of $190,000 from the housing reserve for the creation of housing under the condition that other funds are secured for the project. Edwards seconds the motion. The motion carries 7 -0. GAR Hall Phase IIa Pearl notes that the CPA ask is $295,952, with Round 5 costs for GAR Hall will be reduced by the design contingency savings, which is approximately $32,082. Pearl notes that she would like to leave that as a cushion as opposed to shaving it off the award. Hutchings said they are waiting to confirm final amounts based on the architect to be hired. LaMont said they should have final costs determined in the next two weeks as the selection committee will be choosing a consultant soon. Discussion ensues as to requiring a Preservation Restriction, with the idea of possible local historic district being established, which Cambridge does often. Buchsbaum motions to approve the project in the amount of $295,952 from the general fund with a contingency that funding is subject to the City securing a permanent preservation restriction on the property or establishing a local historic district for that building to protect the investment. Bussone seconds the motion. The motion carries 7 -0. Community Preservation Committee March 15, 2018 Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 5 Approval of Minutes - February 15, 2018 Meeting Buchsbaum motions to approve the February 15, 2018 minutes without any edits. Hall seconds the motion. The motion carries 7 -0. Adjournment Bussone motions to adjourn the meeting. Marino seconds the motion. The motion carries 7 -0. The meeting adjourns at 9:05pm. The next meeting is April 12, 2018 at 7:00pm in Beverly City Hall. Community Preservation Committee March 15, 2018 Meeting Minutes Page 5 of 5