Canton, Massachusetts · Saved source text
July 10 2017
Saved text from 5 of 5 source pages. Transcription and OCR may contain errors; verify figures and wording against the original.
Source page 1
Town of Canton, Massachusetts COMMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMITTEE Minutes of June 13, 2017 The meeting was called to order at 7:05 pm in the Trustees Conference Room at the Canton Public Library. Committee members in attendance: George Comeau, John McSweeney, Michael Mitcheroney, Emilio Mauro, Kathy Fox Alfano, Lisa Lopez (arrived 7:10 pm) Minutes Motion to approve minutes of December 5, 2016 by J. McSweeney, seconded by K. Fox Alfano, approved 5-0-0. Motion to approve minutes of December 12, 2016 by J. McSweeney, seconded by E. Mauro, ap- proved 5-0-0. Treasurer's Report K. Phelps summarized the most recent Treasurer's Report, noting that this report captures only the rev- enues and expenses for FYI and does not include the CPA Fund balance or expenses on projects from prior fiscal years. Motion to accept the Treasurer's Report by E. Mauro, seconded by K. Fox Alfano, approved 6- 0-0. Review Ongoing CPA Projects and Vote on Funding Extensions All CPA grants awarded to date have specified a one-year time period for completion and require the applicant to request an extension if work is not finished by the end of the fiscal year in which the funding commences. G. Comeau and K. Phelps summarized extension requests submitted for projects awarded in fiscal years 2016 and 2017. Recreation Master Plan (awarded ATM 2016): Scope of work has been defined and potential vendors identified. Project has not gone out to bid due to transition in the leadership at the Recreation Department. Motion to extend project funding for one year by J. McSweeney, seconded by E. Mauro, approved 6-0-0. Hagan Court (awarded ATM 2016): Work is substantially complete. Contractor is working through punch list. Motion to extend project funding for one year by J. McSweeney, seconded by E. Mauro, approved 6-0-0. Canton Corner Cemetery Receiving Tomb and Vaults (awarded ATM 2016): Historic Commission is working to get this project out to bid. Motion to extend project funding for one year by J. McSweeney, seconded by E. Mauro, approved 6-0-0. Page 1 of 4 CCPC Minutes of June 13, 2017
Source page 2
Old English Burying Ground (awarded ATM 2016): Historic Commission has vendor lined up (from similar project completed at Canton Corner Cemetery), but need to clarify whether work has to go out to bid again. Motion to extend project funding for one year by I McSweeney, seconded by E. Mauro, approved 6-0-0. Crane's Guard Militia Flay (awarded ATM 2016): The conservator continues to work on restoring the flag. Historic Society has paid all bills to date and will submit for reimbursement. Motion to extend project funding for one year by I McSweeney, seconded by E. Mauro, approved 6-0-0. FPUU Steeple & Spire (awarded ATM 2015): The historic preservation restriction which was required prior to the commencement of any restoration activities has taken much longer than anticipated. The BOS raised some additional questions about the wording of the latest version of the restriction which had been approved by the parties and by the Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC). They had questions regarding the description of the parcel where the church is located and would like the wording revised to make explicit the need to get BOS permission to remove the bell and/or weathervane. Town Counsel and the attorney for the church are currently discussing these matters. L. Lopez noted that during initial conversations with the church, they were reluctant to have their hands tied on the bell and weathervane. She questioned whether the delay in finalizing the restriction would cause the applicant to miss another construction season. G. Comeau stated that he would follow up with the director of MHC regarding the status of the restriction. Motion to extend project funding for one year by I McSweeney, seconded by E. Mauro, approved 6-0-0. Tilden House (awarded ATM 2015): The project proponents successfully sought Town Meeting approval to lease the Tilden House to a third party. A draft lease has been submitted to the BOS for review and an RFP for a lessee will go out shortly. The organization who secures the lease will be responsible for restoration activities at the Tilden House (including administration of the CPA grant for that purpose). K. Fox Alfano inquired as to how much money had been spent to date (approximately $78,000 of the 415K + has been spent on the historic structure study and bid documents). E. Mauro asked whether there was a sunset provision on this funding. L. Lopez replied that the CCPC has the discretion to extend the funding as long as they feel there is a reason to do so. Motion to extend project funding for one year by I McSweeney, seconded by E. Mauro, approved 5-0-0 (G. Comeau abstained). Firefighters Memorial Bell — Vote to Close The applicant confirmed that all work has been completed on this CPA -funded project and that all related bills have been paid. Motion to close the FY 16 Firefighter's Memorial Bell Restoration project (Article 19, Motion 4 in the amount of $15,000 voted at ATM in May of 2015) and to reallocate remaining funds (estimated at $7825) to the CPA Fund Balance from which they were appropriated, by I McSweeney, seconded by E. Mauro, approved 6-0-0. Historic Documents Master Plan — Vote to Close The applicant confirmed that all work has been completed on this CPA -funded project and that all related bills have been paid. L. Lopez asked whether the Plan would be made available to the public and requested that the applicant issue a press release or otherwise publicize the completion of this CPA project. G. Comeau stated that the Historic Society has already started to implement recommendations set forth in the Master Plan. Motion to close the FY 16 Historic Documents Master Plan project (Article 19, Motion 6 in the amount of $10,000 voted at ATM in May of 2015) and to reallocate remaining funds (estimated at $2646.05) to the CPA Fund Balance from which they were appropriated, by I McSweeney, seconded by E. Mauro, approved 6-0-0. Page 2 of 4 CCPC Minutes of June 13, 2017
Source page 3
Canton Corner Cemetery Phase I — Vote to Close Awaiting verification that all related bills have been submitted and paid. Motion to close (pending confirmation from the Historic Commission regarding status of bills) the FY 15 Canton Corner Cemetery Phase I Restoration project (Article 21, Motion 6 in the amount of $25,000 voted at ATM in May of 2014) and to reallocate remaining funds (estimated at $133.55) to the CPA Fund Balance from which they were appropriated, by I McSweeney, seconded by E. Mauro, approved 6-0-0. The CCPC agreed that they would like grant award letters to more explicitly require applicants to publicize their projects and the role CPA played in their completion. Town Meeting Recap G. Comeau stated that all CCPC recommendations were supported by Town Meeting. There were questions on the copper roof and the Newhouse Waterfront Plan; however, all project passed with a significant majority. G. Comeau had responded to resident inquiries on both projects prior to Town Meeting. He felt that the CCPC had a credibility advantage in that projects had been thoroughly vetted. E. Mauro added that input from Town Planner was helpful on the Newhouse Waterfront Landscape Plan as she was able to speak to the contents of the MAPC plan versus the scope of the proposed plan. L. Lopez thanked George for shepherding the CCPC motions through Town Meeting and asked whether there were questions about the housing project and whether the questions/concerns raised during ATM were due to confusion or entrenched opposition. There were no questions or comments on the Rubin Court Housing project and the most controversial project (Newhouse) seemed to be a result of the politics of the plan as well as the decision to combine the three planning projects. I McSweeney stated that it was his impression that Town Meeting would like to see actual projects (rather than plans) going forward. K. Alfano noted that the CCPC had not met between the time they voted project recommendations and Town Meeting, adding that this meant the burden of work in support of the projects fell to G. Comeau. She would like to reinstate a public information meeting in advance of Town Meeting to introduce project recommendations to the community. The CCPC agreed that they would like a project information meeting added to the schedule in advance of Town Meeting next year. CCPC Leadership — Nominations and Elections The CCPC chose to postpone action on this item until a later date in order to solicit feedback and gauge member interest in serving in a leadership position. K. Fox Alfano suggested adopting a process like the one used by the Library Trustees in which the past chair reaches out to current members about performance/nominations. L. Lopez reminded the Committee that the CCPC Chair has significant responsibilities and the other members of leadership are available to fill in for the chair and to act as a sounding board for matters that arise between meetings. She agreed that there should be a process for nominating members to serve in one of the four leadership roles. K. Phelps will schedule/post a follow up meeting (based on availability of members) to elect CCPC officers for FY 2018. Community Preservation Plan - Update G. Comeau reviewed the status of the 2017 Community Preservation Plan and asked if the Committee would consider hiring an outside consultant to assist in completion of the Update. L. Lopez asked for further information about the level of involvement a consultant would have, noting the institutional knowledge of the committee and staff. K. Phelps stated that she had been working to update individual sections of plan and that public input had been solicited through a CPA survey. As the CCPC would like the next update - which will mark 5 years since the original plan - to be more comprehensive than past updates, K. Phelps is uncertain how to analyze/incorporate survey data or how to effectively Page 3 of 4 CCPC Minutes of June 13, 2017
Source page 4
gather feedback from key demographics regarding what they would like to see covered in the plan. Discussion regarding community outreach and the role of a consultant followed. Motion to hire an outside consultant (subject to review of scope, resume and budget) to supplement public input gathering and assist in data analysis by L. Lopez, seconded by K. Fox Alfano, approved 6-0-0. CCPC Meeting Schedule (Summer/Fall) The Committee reviewed the proposed meeting schedule. Key dates include: Monday, September 11, 2017: CCPC Meeting to review Community Preservation Plan Update Tuesday, September 12, 2017: Public Hearing on CCPC Plan and Info Session for Applicants Friday, October 6, 2017: FY 2019 CPA Pre -Applications due by 5:00 pm Friday, November 17, 2017: FY 2019 CPA Full Applications due by 5:00 pm Motion to confirm the proposed meeting dates and application deadlines by I McSweeney, seconded by E. Mauro, approved 6-0-0. Motion to adjourn at 8:05 pm by I McSweeney, seconded by L. Lopez, approved 6-0-0. Respectfully submitted by Kristen Phelps Page 4 of 4 CCPC Minutes of June 13, 2017
Source page 5
Canton Community Preservation Committee FY2017 YTD Summary as of 4.3 .2017 Budgeted Amount YTD Actual Beginning Balance $533,717.52 Revenue CPA Tax $490,000.00 $503,695.54 State Revenue (received November, 2016) $110,000.00 $108,001.00 Tax Liens Redeemed $539.35 Earnings on Investment $5,657.00 Penalties/Interest CPA $1,001.68 Total Revenue $600,000.00 $1,152,612.09 FY2017 Budget YTD Paid Available Budget Administrative Expenses Administration $30,000.00 Payroll $6,598.80 Purchase of Services $0.00 Telephone/Communications $63.39 Postage $0.00 Supplies $97.14 Other Expenditures ($1,750 Coalition dues) $1,750.00 $8,509.33 $21,490.67 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 $22,827.71 $97,172.29 Total Project Expense $385,815.00 $22,827.71 $362,987.29 Total Expenses $415,815.00 $31,337.04 $384,477.96 Total Unused Funds 1 $1,121,275.05