Community Preservation Committee

City of Lowell – Community Preservation Committee Community Preservation Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 25, 2024, 6:30p.m. Conducted in-person and via zoom Note: These minutes are not completed verbatim. For a recording of the meeting, visit www.ltc.org Members Present Adam Baacke, Chair Yovani Baez-Rose, Vice Chair Lloyd DeJesus, Member Brad Buitenhuys, Member Troy Depeiza, Member Ryan Rourke, Member Members Absent Sinead Gallivan, Member Phil Shea, Member Others Present Dylan Ricker, Associate Planner A quorum of the Committee was present. Chairman Baacke called the meeting to order at 6:30PM. I. Minutes for Approval 1/11/2024 Meeting Minutes T. Depeiza motioned, and R. Rourke seconded the motion to approve the January 11, 2024 meeting minutes. The motion passed unanimously, (6-0). II. Continued Business III. New Business Deliberations and Vote on 2023 CPC Applications: The Community Preservation Committee (CPC) will deliberate on all CPC applications submitted for the current application cycle. At the conclusion of the deliberations the CPC will vote on funding recommendations which will be sent to the City Council for approval. Discussion: A. Baacke summarized the role of the CPC at the meeting to make recommendations to the City Council, and the role of the Council in appropriating funds, A. Baacke explained the funding requirements for the CPC. A. Baacke said there are no Open Space projects, and the money can be set aside for future use. B. Buitenhuys asked about using the funds to pay for the Rollie’s Farm project. Y. Baez-Rose said the bond has not been completed yet. A. Baacke said they can revisit this after consultation with city staff. A. Baacke summarized the current CPC applications, and their funding requests. Y. Baez-Rose noted the requests far exceed the available CPA funds and said for construction related projects understanding timelines and when funds can be distributed will help determine whether funding can be used in future years. B. Buitenhuys said there are good applications this year and is supportive of spending all of the funds. B. Buitenhuys said the standout project is Mass Mills and note the dollar per unit is very impactful and it is an important building. B. Buitenhuys expressed support for funding as much as possible. T. Depeiza asked for the total number of units at the Mass Mills project, A. Baacke said it is 82 units. A. Baacke said there will be 28 units at the Suffolk Place project. A. Baacke said these applicants are seeking other funds as well, and using City funds helps them increase the outside funding for the project. Y. Baez-Rose asked if the applicants have requested HOME funds. J. Clark said the Mass Mills project intends to. S. Joncas said Suffolk Place have not determined yet, and added that it may not be eligible due to the AMI level for their units. Y. Baez-Rose noted that the larger projects take time and these projects can accept phased funding. A. Baacke said that due to lower fees taken in by the Registry of Deeds there is a lower state match for CPA funds. Y. Baez-Rose said Project Vlahos is on an active street in the central business district, and people are eager to see these improvements. Y. Baez-Rose said given the location of the 150 Middlesex Street project and its current condition make both Historic Preservation projects attractive. Y. Baez-Rose said both are important to see renovated. Y. Baez-Rose asked about the Project Vlahos timeline. G. Lamarre-Anderson said they anticipate starting work on the inside next week, and they will wait until funds are available to begin the exterior work. A. Baacke asked about the status of the tax credits, and asked if the project is dependent on the tax credits and CPA funding. G. Lamarre-Anderson said the project went far over budget, but they are committed to completing the project. G. Lamarre-Anderson said they are in the last phase for federal credits, and they just applied for state credits. A. Baacke noted the project on Middlesex Street is not seeking tax credits. A. Baacke said there is roughly $800,000 available and this could be split evenly among each project. Y. Baez-Rose said given the unit numbers and project size an even split may not make sense. A. Baacke said the larger projects may take longer to pull together funding and there could be a future pledge of CPA funds. B. Buitenhuys said he is concerned only funding $200,000 of a project that requested $1,000,000 and wanted to clarify whether this funding will make or break the project. J. Rodriguez said it will not, and said he lost funding sources, but they are able to work with other investors to fund the rest of the work if necessary. B. Buitenhuys said a significant amount of funds have been allocated to the Acre area, and there will be significant changes already due to their investment, and said he would like to wait a year to see the impacts on the area prior to funding the Suffolk Place project. B. Buitenhuys said he would prefer to not allocate funds there yet. T. Depeiza said some of the smaller projects will go a little quicker, and the units will be finished sooner, however it may make sense to allocate funding equally. R. Rourke said each project has great merit, and said he believes the funds make a bigger impact on the smaller projects. R. Rourke said providing support from the City is important for the larger projects, but noted the funding would make a bigger impact on the smaller projects. R. Rourke said he is supportive of funding each with it more heavily weighted toward the smaller projects. L. DeJesus expressed support for funding each project, but funding more for the smaller projects because there will be a wait for the larger projects. Y. Baez-Rose said Mass Mills is clearly eligible for HOME funds and given the City’s previous commitment to other phases of the project there is an opportunity to allocate additional City funds to the project. A. Baacke said there is now discussion on the restrictions to be paired with the funding. Y. Baez-Rose said the restrictions are important, but they should be flexible with other funders that may be stricter with their restrictions. A. Baacke said Mass Mills could be either Historic or Affordable Housing for their restriction. Y. Baez-Rose said she supports this as an affordable housing restriction. Motion: Y. Baez-Rose motioned, and B. Buitenhuys seconded the motion to set aside the Open Space funding for future use. The motion passed unanimously, (6-0). B. Buitenhuys motioned to allocate CPA funding as follows: (1) $265,000 to Project Vlahos; (2) $200,000 to Suffolk Place; (3) $200,000 to 150 Middlesex Street; and (4) $146,089.11 to Mass Mills. R. Rourke seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously, (6-0). Y. Baez-Rose motioned, and T. Depeiza seconded the motion to require an affordability restriction on the Suffolk Place project consistent with MassHousing’s Standards. The motion passed unanimously, (6-0). Y. Baez-Rose motioned, and B. Buitenhuys seconded the motion to require an affordability restriction on the Mass Mills project consistent with MassHousing’s Standards. The motion passed unanimously, (6-0). B. Buitenhuys motioned, and L. DeJesus seconded the motion to require a Historic Preservation restriction on the Project Vlahos and 150 Middlesex Street projects. The motion passed unanimously, (6-0). IV. Other Business V. Notices VI. Further Comments from Community Preservation Committee Members VII. Adjournment R. Rourke motioned, and B. Buitenhuys seconded the motion to adjourn the meeting. The time was 7:10PM.