Community Preservation Committee

CITY OF BEVERLY PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES BOARD: Community Preservation Committee LOCATION: Beverly City Hall, 191 Cabot Street, 3rd Floor, Council Chambers DATE: December 14, 2023 BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Derek Beckwith, Vice Chair Robert Buchsbaum, Suzanne LaMont, Nancy Marino, Christy Edwards BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: Heather Richter OTHERS PRESENT: Director of Planning and Development Darlene Wynne, Economic Development Planner Erin Schaeffer, Girdler House Board President and Treasurer Shirley Haynes, Girdler House Board Member Ellie Filyaw RECORDER: Rebecca Gobeil 1. Call to order Chair Beckwith opens the meeting at 7:05 p.m. 2. Consultation and Q&A with the CPC There is no one present. 3. CPA Funding Round 11 – Workshop for CPA Applicants who have been invited to submit a full application. a. Girdler House Haynes and Filyaw are present for applicant Girdler House; CPC will venture to answer any questions Girdler House representatives have rather than conduct a formal workshop, given that only one applicant is present. Filyaw states that in final bid submissions, Girdler House has received numerous bids for generator, kitchen renovation, and windows. She questions if, in the final submission, Girdler House has to decide and present which bid they are choosing or if they submit all bids to show ranges. Beckwith responds that Girdler House should submit all bids and that in certain occasions if something is specialized, and there is only one bid, such a bid would need to be accompanied by the reason there is only one bid. However, typically, applicants supply multiple quotes to help inform CPC of the cost that the applicant will be asking for throughout the project. Filyaw asks if the submission should include quotes for repair to the historical wooden windows and for the complete replacement of the windows to show the differences in costs and energy efficiency. Filyaw also mentions the possibility that maintaining the wooden historical windows may require constant replacement and upkeep. Marino states that issues of upkeep and repair can arise in both repairing the historic windows and in the total replacement of windows and that frequent replacement is more likely to happen with the  Beverly Community Preservation Committee December 14, 2023 Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 4 replacement windows. Filyaw states that she would rather restore the windows and that Girdler House will submit quotes for both the repair of the historic windows and the replacement of the windows. Marino states that CPC has requested three applications for each of the windows, the generator, and the kitchen renovation. Marino further states that for the windows, if classified as historic preservation, CPC only wants to see the cost for historically significant windows. Filyaw states that Girdler House Board member Andrea Beaudry stated that at the last meeting, the CPC stated they would like to see not only prices for restoring windows but also total replacement of the windows. LaMont states that Girdler House should provide both quotes for the windows, but restoring historic windows would be eligible for historical funding, and if Girdler House goes for total replacement, those would be funded through the Community Housing Fund - CPC would consider both, but the funding would come from different buckets. Upon questioning, Filyaw restates Girdler House’s goal is to restore the windows rather than replace them. Edwards states that at the last meeting, the group discussed that Girdler House is qualified for both community housing and historic preservation funds, and as such, funding can be drawn from both buckets. Filyaw again restates that Girdler House’s preference is to preserve the building while being cost-effective. Chair Beckwith stated he wanted to know the scope of what is going to be spent on the project, look at cost sharing, determine the best path forward, and support the preservation that can be offered. LaMont asks if Girdler House has performed an energy audit. Filyaw responds it has, and it has utilized both solar panels and insulation. LaMont states Girdler House should be aware of the programs available and utilize them to bolster other support and avenues for funding. Filyaw asks if Girdler House should specify that it had an energy audit in its application. Chair Beckwith confirms that stating this in the application is helpful for CPC to see the full picture of Girdler House’s maintenance and improvements on the overall project. Edwards states that Girdler House should not be afraid to ask for what they need, ask for quotes to determine the full project costs, and not assume that CPC does not want to fund a more expensive project – CPC cannot give a project more than they ask for so shoot for the stars and let CPC lessen the funds as necessary. Filyaw states the Girdler House has a house generator taking care of part of the house, but they need a whole house generator. Currently, Girdler House has bids from $6,000 to $120,000; if Girdler House goes with the $6,000 generator bid it will likely not support its new appliances in the event of a power outage. Girdler House envisions the power going out in the summer and needing to pull power from other areas with a lesser generator. Therefore, Girdler House feels it will be better to go with a better generator to be covered, particularly if, in the future, Girdler House decides to put in a mini-split air conditioner. Marino states it is good that Girdler House is looking towards the long term. LaMont states that Girdler House should go ahead and write about their thoughts on the generator in the 2  Beverly Community Preservation Committee December 14, 2023 Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 4 application and how a more expensive one would set them up to be in a better position in the future - essentially, write exactly what you need and the justification for why you need it. Filyaw states Girdler House desperately needs new appliances, as stated in a Board of Health letter, and further state representatives and state senators have agreed to support Girdler House. CPC encourages applicant to include all of this in their final application. CPC further restates that applicants should follow the application and respond to each question as well as show community need, eligibility, public support, and other items requested by the application. Girdler House's final application is due [INSERT DATE] at noon, and they are to provide eight paper copies and an electronic version. b. Question from Director of Planning and Development Darlene Wynne Director Wynne asks if anything else should be included in a submission. asking for the affordable housing committee, is there anything specific CPC would like the City to include in its application? Vice Chair Buchsbaum states in terms of funding the City is not only looking for CPA funding. Marino states that CPC has never had an issue with funding any of the affordable housing efforts that have been brought forward 4. Project Close Out a. Gillis Park Stairs - Beverly Recreation Department – Final report and budget shared for CPC review and approval Chair Beckwith states that the project came in sizeably under budget and that his math shows that $5,965 should be able to be reinvested into the fund. LaMont agrees that is how it appears. LaMont expresses that she believes there is an additional charge for 50 bricks for $1,500 and that $30 a brick seems insane and in her opinion, this represents an overpayment. She believes the final report shows that CPC is paying twice for both the bricks and the handrail. Chair Beckwith expresses that he did not see it as $30 a brick but that the cost likely incorporates other charges including shipping. LaMont restates her concerns and further states that there is no change order so CPC cannot be sure why there is an increased cost. Beckwith states that the contractor would best be able to address these concerns at a future meeting. LaMont also expresses concerns over the cost of the handrail - the original application quoted that it could be done for less than $10,000 and $17,000 was spent in the end. Beckwith suggests that rather than going into detail about the issues CPC should wait until the next meeting when the contractor can attend and answer any and all questions. 3  Beverly Community Preservation Committee December 14, 2023 Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 4 LaMont states that overall the project is not what was promised and not a good example of a historical preservation project. Edwards states that it would be helpful for an intern or staff person to stay on top of the projects and provide CPC regular updates. Beckwith informs the group that they are working on hiring a person to oversee projects and ensure projects are meeting certain standards. Chair Beckwith stated Director Wynne has drafted a job description for this role. CPC agreed to table the issue until the next meeting. b. Historic Beverly – Cabot House HVAC Project CPC agreed that the budget for this project is complex due to there being so many different items, and only part of it is CPC funding. Vice Chair Motion to accept the Cabot House HVAC Project final report and place it on Buchsbaum: file. LaMont seconds. The motion carries (5-0). 5. Approval of minutes a. November 16, 2023 The members review and offer edits to the November 16, 2023 draft meeting minutes. Edits included changing the titles of Bryant and Sue Gabriel. LaMont: Motion to accept the November 16, 2023 meeting minutes as amended. Vice Chair Buchsbaum seconds. Motion carries (5-0). 6. Other items not known in advance of the posting of this agenda There are none. 7. Adjourn Vice Chair Motion to adjourn. LaMont seconds. The motion carries unopposed. Buchsbaum: Meeting adjourns at 8:18 p.m. Next regular CPC meeting: Thursday, January 18, 2024 7 p.m. – CPA applicant workshop 4