Community Preservation Committee

October 13, 2015, Page 1 of 4 COMMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMITTEE MINUTES October 13, 2014 A Public Hearing and regular meeting of the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) was held on Tuesday, October 13, 2015 at 6:00 pm at 120 Washington Street, Salem, MA. Present were Chair Helen Sides, Vice Chair Kevin Cornacchio, Joanne McCrea, Ed Moriarty, Mickey Northcutt and John Boris. Also present was Jane Guy of the City of Salem Department of Planning & Community Development. Bart Hoskins arrived later in the meeting. Public Hearing & Public Comment Ms. Sides stated that the purpose of this public hearing is to solicit input regarding the development of the FY16 Community Preservation Plan. She stated that the Plan will be used to guide the Community Preservation Committee’s decision-making when reviewing and recommending project applications for Community Preservation Act funding. She reminded audience members to take a handout and sign in. She stated there is also an English/Spanish survey and that participants may provide comment verbally or on the survey. Ms. Guy provided a PowerPoint presentation overview of the CPA. Ms. Sides opened up the public hearing to questions and comments. Mr. Hoskins joined the meeting at this time. David Hart, 104 Federal Street, stated that he is a member of Historic Salem, Inc. and is on the Salem Historical Commission, but was speaking as a private individual. He stated that he was concerned with the notion at the City Council level that CPA funds should not be spent for private non-profits and only be used for City property. He stated that he contacted the Community Preservation Coalition and was told that the legislation allows private entities to receive CPA funds. He noted that they have a project data base which shows projects that have been funded in Massachusetts. He looked at cities similar to Salem, including Quincy, Newburyport, Gloucester, Plymouth and Provincetown. Through 2014 for historic preservation projects, Quincy made 50 awards of which 25 were to private non-profits, Newburyport made 50 awards of which 24 were to private non-profits, Gloucester awarded 27 of which 21 to private non-profits, Plymouth awarded 16 with 13 to private non-profits, Provincetown awarded 23 of which 4 were to private non-profits. He encouraged the CPC to continue to award to private non-profits. He stated that he feels it is very important to the City of Salem, where there are a number of non-profit institutions that certainly contribute to the economy of Salem and are worthy of awards. He added that there are many federal agencies that contribute money to the private, non-profit sector, including the National Park Service which has a federal tax credit program that is eligible to non-profits. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts also has a state tax credit program available to private institutions, as well as a Grant-in-Aid Program through Massachusetts Historical Commission. Ms. Sides thanked Mr. Hart for reinforcing that position from outside this committee.  October 13, 2015, Page 2 of 4 Flora Tonthat, 30 Northey Street, asked if CPA funds can used to clean up open space areas, such as tree squares, weeds in sidewalks. She understood it was city maintenance, but noted that there are never enough funds. Ms. Guy stated that unfortunately it is not eligible under CPA. Ms. Tonthat asked if it could be used for planting areas such as the little park in the MBTA area. Ms. Guy replied in the negative. She stated that CPA funds could be used to redesign a park and put in play structures, but could not do ordinary maintenance such as weeding and mowing. Ms. Tonthat asked about the proposed new pocket park by former jail. Ms. Guy stated that if it were to be made into a real park, it could be eligible. The City owns the space, so it could be submitted by Park and Recreation. The award can go only to the entity that has site control. The Park and Recreation would need to authorize the submission of an application. There were no further comments and the public hearing portion of the meeting was closed. Other Business Ms. Guy stated that the CPC received a thank you card from Christine Lutts and Pat Donahue of the Friends of Greenlawn. Determinations of Eligibility Applications Ms. Guy stated that there were no new Determination of Eligibility Applications received. Member reports on solicitation of comments from city boards/commission Ms. Guy noted that Mr. Moriarty emailed a summary of the Bike Path Committee meeting he attended. Mr. Cornacchio stated that he went to the NIAC Committee and that an attendee asked about private funding. He noted that he did not make it to SRA. Ms. McCrea stated that the Salem Historical Commission is in the process of preparing their comments. She stated that they talked about the park at the former jail and that there was a concern about the process, the design, use and giving away of parking spaces by the city. They wondered if there was a public meeting about it. Ms. Guy stated that it went before City Council. Ms. Sides stated that the City Council decided on 17 spaces for parking. It now needs to go to Planning Board, Design Review Board and Conservation Commission.  October 13, 2015, Page 3 of 4 Ms. Guy encouraged members of boards to sign up for the email subscriber to get agendas of all boards of interest. Ms. Guy noted that it is not in an historic district and the design process has not yet begun. Budget Update Ms. Guy distributed copies of the monthly budget report and the funding status spreadsheet. She noted that the amount available for projects now is $209,977.94 (not including FY17 budget). Approval of Minutes Mr. Cornacchio made a motion to approve the minutes of September 8, 2015. Mr. Northcutt seconded the motion; all were in favor and the motion so carried. Purchase of name plates and signage Ms. Guy stated that at the last meeting, it was observed that the CPC does not have nameplates. Name plates will cost just under $150 and she requested authorization to purchase nameplates for current and future members from admin costs. Ms. Boris made a motion to approve the purchase of CPC member nameplates for current and future members under administrative costs. Ms. McCrea seconded the motion; all were in favor and the motion so carried. Ms. Guy stated that she felt the signs for smaller projects are bulky and can be challenging to install. She suggested purchasing two dozen smaller signs (similar to campaign lawn signs with H wire) that can easily be inserted into the ground. She also recommended the purchase of 3 signs on foam core board to put in the locations of the artwork being restored at City Hall. Deschamps Printing quoted $655. She requested authorization to purchase signs from admin costs. Ms. Sides suggested that the wire signs be secured in a secondary way, when possible, such as wired to a fence. Mr. Hoskins stated that for some projects, there is a permanent sign to leave a lasting record on the site. He suggested thinking about small signs on a case by case basis. He also recommended the temporary signs have a base so they don’t need to be installed in the ground. Mr. Cornacchio made a motion to approve the purchase of lawn signs and foam core signs for $655 from FY16 administration costs. Ms. McCrea seconded the motion; all were in favor and the motion so carried. Ms. Guy also notified members that there may be an opportunity to visit the painting restoration site in Beverly and asked members to let her know if they would be interested.  October 13, 2015, Page 4 of 4 Next Meeting Date Ms. Guy stated that the next meeting date is scheduled for Tuesday, November 10, 2015. Ms. Sides stated that she is submitting her resignation from the CPC. She stated that she has too many time commitments with the Planning Board and Design Review Board. She stated that she enjoyed being on the board and thanked everyone. She stated that the Planning Board will appoint someone else. Mr. Northcutt made a motion to nominate Mr. Cornacchio as Chair effective the next meeting. Mr. Boris seconded the motion, all were in favor and the motion so carried. Mr. Moriarty stated that he attended the event at the State House to celebrate 15th anniversary of the official passing of the CPA. He stated that it was rather inspirational and that they honored individuals in several communities for promoting CPA in their communities. He noted that there is broad bi-partisan support, with the Governor, the Speaker of the House and the Senate President all speaking in favor of CPA. Mr. Moriarty added that Stuart Saginor has recommended that we support a piece of legislation that is pending which would for the first time in 15 years make an adjustment upwards of the Registry of Deeds recording fees which fuel the CPA state matching funds. As more communities enact CPA, the legislation would provide for more CPA money through the closings at the Registry of Deeds. He noted that he met briefly with Joan Lovely and Paul Tucker, and while they support CPA, he was not sure if there is support for an automatic fee adjustment to inflation each year. They will give that legislation serious consideration. Mr. Hoskins agreed that linking it to inflation would be a very hard sell. Ms. Guy stated that when Boston comes on line, it will certainly affect the CPA funding available. Mr. Hoskins stated that he is going on a work detail to Washington, DC through mid-February and won’t be here for November, December and January meetings. Mr. Hoskins asked about the blended funds. Ms. Guy stated that there have not been any guidelines issued, but that she will be putting it in the FY17 budget that goes to the City Council. There being no further business, Mr. Cornacchio made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Moriarty seconded the motion; all were in favor, and the motion so carried. Respectfully submitted, Jane A. Guy Administrator