Loading...
Agenda and Minutes 2013-04-03 City of Northampton Community Preservation Committee 210 Main Street, City Hall Northampton, MA 01060 Community Preservation Committee DATE: Wednesday, April 3 , 20 1 3 TIME: 7:0 0pm PLACE: City Council Chambers, 212 Main Street (BEHIND City Hall) Contact : Downey Meyer , Chair, Community Preservation Committee downeymeyer@gmail.com Sarah LaValley , Community Preservation Planner slavalley@northamptonma.gov ( 413) 587 - 1263 Agenda  General Public Comment  Minutes  March 6, 2013  March 20, 2013  Chair’s Report  Financial Review/Update  Complete Funding Recommendations for Round 1, 2013  Review and Approve MOU for Christopher Height s Assisted Living Affordable Housing Project  Review and Approve Contract Extension for Look Park Recreation Design Project  Adjourn For additional information please refer to the Community Preservation Committee website: http://www.no rthamptonma.gov/cpc/ Next Meeting: May 1 , 2013 Community Preservation Committee Minutes April 3 , 201 3 Time: 7:0 0 pm Place: Cit y Council Chambers, 212 Main Street Memb ers Present: Downey Meyer, Debin Bruce, Dave Rothstein, Jim Durfer, Bill Breitbart, Brian Adams , Joe DeFazio Staff Present: Sarah La Valley Downey ca lled th e meeting to order at 7 : 0 2 PM. General Public Comment None Minutes - March 6, 2013 Debin moved to approve the minutes with changes suggested by Dave. Seconded by Dave, the motion carried unanimously. Chair’s Report None Finan cial Review/Update Sarah informed the Committee that there is approximately $450,000 available for this round, not taking into account bonding capacity. Complete Funding Recommendations for Round 1, 2013 Dave asked whether the Committee should plan to fin alize council resolutions, including conditions at this meeting, or wait until a later meeting. The Committee agreed that this would depend on how much time is needed for discussion. Downey suggested that discussions begin with the highest priority projec ts, as identified in CPC member ranking sheets. Access to Housing – ServiceNet Dave moved to recommend funding the project at the requested $10,000 amount. Seconded by Bill, the motion carried unanimously, with no discussion. City Hall Preservation – No rthampton Central Services Jim moved to recommend funding the project at the requested $95,000 amount. Seconded by Brian. Debin stated that she would prefer funding the project at whatever the successful bid amount is, but that is not possible since it ha s not yet gone out to bid. Sarah noted that bidding a nd procurement will be required. Dave suggested that providing the full amount based on a very preliminary estimate might not be necessary. The applicant did not demonstrate that there are structural d eficiencies with the building, and did not present compelling evidence that the full project needed to be funded now. T he project has also been submitted for capital improvement funds. Dave moved to amend the full funding motion to half the requested a mount , suggesting that, like the Academy of Music’s roof funding, the request to capital improvements might be more successful in coming years if the applicant had partial CPC funds in hand . Seconded by Downey. Debin noted that it would be difficult for t he CPC to judge when City Hall may be structurally threatened by work not being done. Downey added his concern about waiting until historic buildings have become damaged before funding. If it is an appropriate historic preservation project, he would pref er to fund now. The amendment failed, 5 - 1. Dave suggested that a condition be added that requires the applicant to demonstrate how it will comply with the Secretary of the Interior Standards , especially as to sandblasting, before it begins restoration . S arah stated that the Historical Commission also agreed this was important, and Northampton Community Preservation Committee Minutes 1 April 3, 2013 suggested hiring a qualified historic consultant. The Committee agreed this could be burdensome to the applicant, and agreed that the applicant should submit documentation to t he CPC that the project will meet all applicable standards. The motion carried unanimously. Pulaski Park Design – Northampton Public Works Debin moved to recommend funding the project at $40,000. Seconded by Bill. Debin suggested that the DPW should hold a charrette regarding the design of the park. Brian stated that he is confused regarding the requirement for so many designs of the park. Downey replied that funding is being sought for construction documents . Bill suggested that another community input process is needed, as the design seems too conceptual. Elements of some of the other designs could also be advanced. Joe stated that he feels it is an important project and should be advanced, but is unsure how to vote based on what has been presented. Da ve suggested that the CPC in the past had fund ed small feasibility studies of upwards of $20,000 . Buta s presented, the project w ould be a speculative $200,000 feasibility design for which there is no guarantee of approval or funding . Moreover, costs were n ot a consideration in the original designs submitted, upon which the current proposal will be based. Partial funding of the project also would not seem to address the Committee’s concerns. Downey stated that he shares concerns regarding cost and public in put provided to - date. Bill stated that the design cost seems high when compared to the total project cost . Debin noted that the design and public process seems like it was done several years ago and needs revisiting. Dave asked whether the Committee could vote not to recommend the project in this round, but provide the applicant with a letter detailing major concerns. Sarah stated that this has been done a few times in past rounds and could be helpful. Downey added that if Committee members articulate s pecific concerns he and staff will communicate those to the applicant. The motion failed unanimously. Window Replacement – Forbes Library Brian moved to recommend partial funding of the project. Seconded by Debin. Brian noted his concern that the archi tect did not seem to have evaluated all of the buildings windows. Debin asked whether approval from MassHistoric, as holder of the preservation restriction, is typically granted prior to seeking funds. Bill stated that would depend on the specific project . Sarah added that approval from the Central Business Architecture Committee would also be required under local Ordinances. Dave distributed the Secretary of the Interior’s standards for window rehabilitation to the Committee, noting that removal /replaceme nt of windows that are not beyond repair is not recommended. The applicant has neither assessed each window nor demonstrated that the windows are beyond repair, and he does not feel comfortable recommending the project until that work has been completed a nd submitted for review . He would not be opposed to partial funding, but would need to know exactly what would be funded and that it satisfies the criteria . Downey suggested that replacement of windows in special collection rooms could be funded. Debin stated that she felt the application would really need to include a full documentation of all of the windows proposed to be replaced. Downey noted that if historic documents are being destroyed, that could be the basis for an expedited application. Revie w and Approve MOU for Christopher Heights Assisted Living Affordable Housing Project Tabled until next meeting. Review and Approve Contract Extension for Look Park Recreation Design Project Debin moved to approve the extension. Seconded by Bill, the moti on carried unanimously. Other Business Northampton Community Preservation Committee Minutes 2 April 3, 2013 Dave suggested that the Committee consider how to spread the word about the availability of CPA funds during planning for the next round. Adjourn On a motion and second, with unanimous vote , the meetin g was adjourne d at 8 : 25 PM Northampton Community Preservation Committee Minutes 3 April 3, 2013