Canton, Massachusetts · Saved source text

Min-20161207115900

CCPC · Source year folder: 2016 · Record 48154

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Town of Canton, Massachusetts 
COMMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMITTEE 
Minutes of November 28, 2016 
The meeting was called to order at 7:08 pm in the Aldrich Room at the Canton Public Library. 
Committee members in attendance: George Comeau, Kathy Fox Alfano, Stacey Gorman, John McSweeney, 
Deb Sundin 
Guests: Emilio Mauro, Cynthia O'Connell, Josh Cohen, Michael Rota, Janet Maguire, Nick Pirelli, Steve 
MacPherson, Amanda Ryder, 
Minutes 
Motion to approve minutes of October 3, 2016 by J. McSweeney, seconded by D. Sundin, approved 5-0-0. 
Veteran's Housing Project — Vote to close 
After receiving confirmation form the Canton Housing Authority that the work on the Veteran's Housing units 
had been completed and all related bills paid, the CCPC voted to close the project at their October 3, 2016 meet- 
ing. That vote failed to separately close out the three warrant articles appropriating money to this project. The 
CCPC therefore took the following action: 
Motion to close the FY 15 Electrical Box Replacement project (Article 21, Motion 4 in the amount of 
$30,000 voted at ATM in May of 2014) by J. McSweeney, seconded by D. Sundin, approved 5-0-0. 
Motion to close the FY 15 Smoke Detector project (Article 21, Motion 5 in the amount of $63,700 voted at 
ATM in May of 2014) by J. McSweeney, seconded by D. Sundin, approved 5-0-0. 
Motion to close the FY 16 supplemental funding for Electrical Boxes and Smoke Detectors (Article 19, 
Motion 9 in the amount of $100,000 voted at ATM in May of 2015) by J. McSweeney, seconded by D. 
Sundin, approved 5-0-0. 
Per the vote at the October 3, 2016 CCPC meeting, all unused funds shall be reallocated to the accounts from 
which they were originally appropriated. 
Update on State Distribution from CPA Trust Fund 
G. Comeau noted that the State match distributed earlier this month was just under twenty-one percent. 
Canton's match was $108,001. 
Treasurer's Report 
The Committee reviewed the financial report. Motion to approve the Treasurer's Report (attached hereto) 
by J. McSweeney, seconded by K. Fox Alfano, approved 5-0-0. 
Page 1 of 4 CCPC Minutes of November 28, 2016

Consideration of Late Application (Canton Little League) 
Michael Rota was present on behalf of the applicant. He explained that based on CPA -related emails and 
information he had seen on the web, he was under the impression that the full application was due just prior to 
Thanksgiving. He noted that he dropped the application at Pequitside the afternoon of November 18th. Unlike 
the other CPA applicants, M. Rota added that he was an outsider to Town Hall and was less familiar with the 
process, deadlines, etc. The Committee discussed the circumstances of this late application. K. Phelps added 
that in addition to the confirmation e-mail sent to applicants following pre -application submittal (notifying them 
of project eligibility and providing both links to and copies of the full application), she would also send a final 
deadline reminder to all applicants one week prior to the full application deadline. Motion to accept the 
application from Canton Little League by J. McSweeney, seconded by S. Gorman, approved 5-0-0. The 
presentation for this project will be scheduled for December 12, 2016. 
Presentations by FY 2018 CPA Applicants 
G. Comeau explained that the CCPC would be hearing from each of the twelve CPA applicants over the coming 
weeks and reminded the CCPC that funding requests for FYI exceeded the amount of CPA dollars available 
for distribution. Representatives for each of the four applications being considered then presented their pro- 
posed projects. 
Project: Pequitside Barn Architectural Study 
Applicant: Canton Conservation Commission 
CPA Request: $28,000 
Conservation Commission Chairman, Josh Cohen, introduced the project, describing the Pequitside Barn and 
noting that it is a contributing structure in the Canton Historic District. The study would allow the Commission 
to assess the viability of the historic structure and understand the upgrades needed to allow better utilization of 
the space. The Conservation Commission voted to use $5,000 from the Pequitside Rental Fund to partially fund 
the study. Conservation Agent Cynthia O'Connell added that the proposed Architectural Study of the barn ties 
into the ongoing engineering study of Pequitside Farm that was funded at the 2016 ATM. G. Comeau added 
that the barn was constructed in 1895 on what was then the Draper Estate. He informed the applicants that any 
future work on the barn (beyond the study) would have to comply with Department of Interior Standards. D. 
Sundin stated that this has been on the Conservation Commissions wish list for several years and she highlight- 
ed the original cupola and weathervane as important historic assets. 
Project: Open Space & Recreation Plan Update 
Applicant: Canton Conservation Commission & Canton Recreation Commission 
CPA Request: $22,000 
Conservation Commission Chairman, Josh Cohen, introduced the project, noting that the last Update was com- 
pleted in 1997. He and Conservation Agent Cynthia O'Connell explained that the Open Space and Recreation 
Plan (OSRP) is a stand-alone planning document with very specific sections prescribed by the Commonwealth. 
Having a completed and approved plan on file with the State will make Canton eligible for certain Massachu- 
setts grant opportunities that they are currently ineligible to apply for. In response to a question from J. 
McSweeney, C. O'Connell stated that the OSRP is good for at least 5 years and that while there is no state 
money available to produce the plan, an approved plan makes the Town eligible for other grant funding (LAND 
and PARC program grants). 
Noting the funding situation this year, G. Comeau asked whether the Conservation Commission would priori- 
tize one project over the other. J. Cohen and C. O'Connell stated that they would like to consider and would 
provide a response after further discussion. 
Page 2 of 4 CCPC Minutes of November 28, 2016

Project: Restore Tilden Playground 
Applicant: Canton Recreation Commission 
CPA Request: $176,000 
Recreation Department Director, Janet Maguire, introduced the project. She stated that the Commission had 
submitted a funding request to the Capital Planning Committee last year and had been directed to seek funds for 
playground restoration through the Community Preservation Fund. J. Maguire reviewed goals, budget and de- 
sign specifications for the proposed playground. J. McSweeney asked about the status of the Needs Assessment 
and Master Plan that the CCPC funded last year. J. Maguire replied that the bid document had been completed 
and was ready to go. G. Comeau added that this was a priority project last year and remains a priority despite 
the fact that the plan has not commenced. Additional questions regarding design and budget and timeframe 
were answered by J. Maguire who stated that the vendors they have spoken with are large companies and are 
known for high quality equipment. Additionally, the typical approach to purchasing such equipment is to pro- 
vide the vendor with the dollar amount you can spend and they tell you what fits within that budget. Based on 
this approach, the Commission has a high degree of confidence in their budget numbers. Lastly, the timeframe 
for playground installation is approximately 8-12 weeks. G. Comeau questioned whether the surveillance 
equipment was an eligible CPA expense. K. Phelps will inquire with the Community Preservation Coalition on 
this point. 
Project: Restore Devoll Playground 
Applicant: Canton Recreation Commission 
CPA Request: $244,000 
Recreation Department Director, Janet Maguire, introduced the project. She stated that the goals at Devoll 
playground were slightly different, noting that this site is the home of their summer playground program, a free 
summer program for all Canton residents. In addition, the design at Devoll is intentionally different in order to 
provide a variety of options. She provided an in-depth review of the design and budget for Devoll, noting that 
the playground would be relocated and would be all -person accessible. In response to questions from the Com- 
mittee, J. Maguire stated the playground equipment comes with substantial warranties, that there would be min- 
imal maintenance costs going forward ($500 to $1000 per year) and that they would likely hire a playground 
inspector insure the structures are properly maintained. 
G. Comeau asked Janet Maguire whether it would be possible for the Recreation Commission to prioritize one 
playground over the other. J. Maguire replied that the Commission had this discussion and was not able to make 
a priority recommendation. She noted that both playgrounds are in urgent need of replacement and that lack of 
funding would likely result in playground structures being removed and not replaced at this time. There are ad- 
vocates for both playgrounds; Tilden is very much a neighborhood playground while Devoll is where the Rec- 
reation Commission runs their free summer playground program which offers access to play for a diverse audi- 
ence throughout the Town of Canton. S. Gorman stated that their decision to not offer a priority listing was not 
a line in the sand, but rather a recognition of the two very different spaces/constituencies/goals at each play- 
ground. G. Comeau stated that the CCPC would like to work with the Commission on this as the funding situa- 
tion may require difficult decisions. 
In addition to multiple letters of support for the Tilden and Devoll applications, the following Canton residents 
were present and spoke about the poor/unsafe conditions at both playgrounds and in favor of both the play- 
ground projects: 
Steve MacPherson —19 Paul Street 
Amanda Ryder — 8 Tilden Road 
Doug Connor — 7 Tilden Road 
Page 3 of 4 CCPC Minutes of November 28, 2016

They urged the CCPC to support replacement of Tilden and Devoll playgrounds. 
G. Comeau suggested that the CCPC might consider creating a list of projects that would be approved in the 
next round of funding and possibly forgoing an application process next year (FY 19). He added that this is a 
procedure used by the Historic Commission at the state level and has worked well when there are multiple 
worthwhile projects. The committee agreed to discuss at a later date. 
Motion to adjourn at 8:45 pm by J. McSweeney, seconded by D. Sundin, approved 5-0-0. 
Respectfully submitted by 
Kristen Phelps 
Page 4 of 4 CCPC Minutes of November 28, 2016

Canton Community Preservation Committee 
FY2017 YTD Summary as of 9.30.2016 
Budgeted 
Amount 
YTD Actual 
Beginning Balance 
$533,717.52 
Revenue 
CPA Tax 
$490,000.00 
$139,976.57 
State Revenue (received November, 2016) 
$110,000.00 
$0.00 
Tax Liens Redeemed 
$141.90 
Earnings on Investment 
$1,323.00 
Penalties/Interest CPA 
$254.08 
Total Revenue 
$600,000.00 
$675,413.07 
FY2017 
Budget 
YTD Paid 
Available 
Budget 
Administrative Expenses 
Administration 
$301000.00 
Payroll 
$1,432.79 
Purchase of Services 
$0.00 
Telephone/Communications 
$18.46 
Postage 
$0.00 
Supplies 
$97.14 
Other Expenditures ($1,750 Coalition dues) 
$1,750.00 
$3,298.39 
$26,701.61 
Distributions 
Committed Project Expenses 
$385,815.00 
Open Space/Recreation 
Recreational Facilities Master Plan 
$50,000.00 
$0.00 
$50,000.00 
Historic Resources 
Crane's Guard Militia Flag 
$18,900.00 
$0.00 
$18,900.00 
Olde English Burying Ground 
$36,915.00 
$0.00 
$36,915.00 
Receiving Tomb & Vaults 
$160,000.00 
$0.00 
$160,000.00 
Community Housing 
Hagan Court 
$120,000.00 
$0.00 
$120,000.00 
Total Project Expense 
$385,815.00 
$0.00 
$385,815.00 
Total Expenses 
$415,815.00 
$3,298.39 
$412,516.61 
Total Unused Funds 
1 
$672,114.68

Open Projects 
Committed Project Expenses 
$965,980.00 
Open Space/Recreation 
Recreational Facilities Master Plan (17) 
$50,000.00 
$0.00 
$50,000.00 
Historic Resources 
Crane's Guard Militia Flag (17) 
$18,900.00 
$0.00 
$18,900.00 
Olde English Burying Ground (17) 
$36,915.00 
$0.00 
$36,915.00 
Receiving Tomb & Vaults (17) 
$160,000.00 
$0.00 
$160,000.00 
First Parish Steeple (16) 
$99,120.00 
$0.00 
$99,120.00 
Martha Howard Petticoat (16) 
$5,895.00 
$3,447.50 
$2,447.50 
Historic Document Master Plan (16) 
$10,000.00 
$7,353.95 
$2,646.05 
Firefighter's Memorial Bell (16) 
$15,000.00 
$425.00 
$14,575.00 
Canton Corner Cemetery Phase II 
$11,000.00 
$630.00 
$10,370.00 
Tilden House Restoration 
$414,150.00 
$40,106.50 
$374,043.50 
Canton Corner Cemetery Phase I (15) 
$25,000.00 
$19,763.45 
$5,236.55 
Community Housing 
Hagan Court (17) 
$120,000.00 
$0.00 
$120,000.00 
Project Funds Expended 
$71,726.40 
Project Funds Remaining 
$894,253.60