Community Preservation Committee

May 26, 2020, Page 1 of 10 COMMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMITTEE MINUTES May 26, 2020 A meeting of the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) was held on Tuesday, May 26, 2020 at 6:00 pm via remote participation through Zoom. Present were Chair Bart Hoskins, Vice Chair Tim Shea, Carole Hamilton, Ed Moriarty, Chris Burke, Mark Pattison, Mickey Northcutt, Deborah Greel and John Boris. Also present was Jane Guy of the City of Salem Department of Planning & Community Development. Mr. Hoskins stated that Disclosures of Appearance of Conflict of Interest were filed for the following applications for which the members can still vote: o Deborah Greel for North Shore CDC’s New Point Acquisitions and Lafayette Housing II Limited Partnership projects, due to being on the board of the NSCDC . Mr. Hoskins added that due to Conflicts of Interest, certain CPC members must abstain from discussion and leave the room for the following: o Mickey Northcutt for North Shore CDC’s New Point Acquisitions and Lafayette Housing II Limited Partnership projects, due to being an employee of NSCDC. o Deborah Greel for Forest River Park project due to her husband being a structural engineer on the project. Public Comment Ms. Guy read a letter received from Ward 6 Councillor Megan Riccardi in support of the Historic Fire Station Rehabilitation, specifically the fire station #2 on North Street. Kate Casa stated that she was present representing the North Shore CDC on their two applications. Laura MacNeil, Executive Director of the North Shore Community Action Groups, Inc. stated that she was present to answer any questions on their application. Gerry Giunta, Chief of the Salem Fire Department, stated that there are issues with the Engine 2 roof, which is starting to leak from the gutters. He provided a copy of the quote for repair and stated that he was most interested in getting that work done as soon as possible and putting off the other items due to the economic climate. Alyssa Rosemartin stated that she was present representing Salem Community Gardens. Linda Coffill stated that she was present representing the Board of the Salem Council on Aging’s application. Jenna Ide, City of Salem Director of Capital Projects and Sustainable Operations, stated that she was present to answer any questions. Cathy Hoog, Salem Housing Authority, stated that she was present to answer any questions.  May 26, 2020, Page 2 of 10 Kerry Murphy, City of Salem Health Department, stated that she was present to answer any questions regarding the Mack Park Food Farm. Kathy Winn, City of Salem Dept. of Planning & Community Development, stated she was present to answer questions about the Palmer Cove project. Development of FY20 Funding Recommendations Ms. Guy stated that there I $833,481.29 available for awards. Mr. Shea stated that he suggested that in these rare and unusual times that the first two applications be increased over their request, such as $125,000 each. Ms. Hamilton stated that she felt similar, but wondered if the CPC should fund all the High rated proposals at their full request or those with immediacy, such as rental assistance, food and housing programs, and then hold the rest of the available funds in case one of these needs to come back for more. She stated she would not want to offer an applicant more money and have them come back and say they couldn’t use it, and not have funded something else. Mr. Northcutt was in agreement with Ms. Hamilton, but asked to hear from Ms. MacNeil. Ms. MacNeil stated that there is worry when the housing moratorium is lifted and how many people will become homeless because they will not be able to pay their rent. One strategy is to work with landlords to reach agreements to reduce rent or to agree not to do any proceedings with tenants for at least 6 months if the unit is being assisted by a non-profit. Ms. MacNeil stated that NSCAP will spend every penny it gets and there will still be a need. Ms. Coffill stated believed that the Transitional Rental Assistance Program, that the Board of the Salem Council on Aging is partnering with the Salem Housing Authority, would also be able to quickly spend the funds. She stated that there is a concern that people who have lost their jobs may not be able to regain their jobs for a while. Mr. Shea stated that funds that are not used for projects coming under budget come back to the available funding pool. He added that if someone doesn’t get full funding, they can also come back the next round. He stated that he felt these are extremely unusual times and we should do the most we can for these people. Mr. Moriarty stated that Mayor Driscoll stated today at the Salem Rotary that food, housing, digital divide and jobs are of critical importance. She stated the Salem unemployment rate is almost 20% when it was essentially zero at the beginning of the year. It will be a difficult upcoming fiscal year. She was especially concerned about food and housing, which he felt are priorities the CPC can address. He agreed with Mr. Shea and other members that the projects can be not only fully funded but super-funded, but not to neglect our responsibilities to other areas. He stated that extraordinary times require extraordinary relief from us and supported funding in excess of $100,000 for each of the projects. Ms. Hoog concurred with Mr. Shea, Mr. Moriarty and Ms. Coffill's comments. She stated that housing is a real issue already and they are extremely worried and concerned.  May 26, 2020, Page 3 of 10 Ms. Greel stated that there is a new wave predicted in October, so this is important funding now. She stated that she agreed with Mr. Shea, Ms. Coffill and Ms. Hoog about the need right now. Mr. Hoskins stated that the Phillips House project is also contributing to housing assistance. He offered that the CPC could fund $120,000 for each of the rental assistance programs, fully fund Mack Park Food Farm, $100,000 to New Point Acquisitions to show there is community support, $12,000 for the Salem Community Gardens, fully fund Palmer Cove and Curtis Parks, fully fund the repointing at Brookhouse and fund $50,000 to Lafayette housing, which would leave enough to do Firestation #2 roof repair, and would leave some funds for the Phillips House for their restoration. Mr. Northcutt asked about the project budget for the Phillips House and how $125,000 versus $275,000 will affect the project. Ms. Hoog stated that they would never turn down money and will take whatever is given. The project is a high priority because the envelope is failing. It does preserve 13 affordable housing units in Salem and is an historic landmark. Ms. Hoog stated that part of the funding request is for the structural analysis. She stated that they also would not want to do brickwork without waterproofing. Ms. Greel stated that the structural analysis is an important consideration in terms of phasing and noted that there is an estimate without an understanding of the complete extent of cost.  Board of the Salem Council on Aging – Transitional Rental Assistance  NSCAP – Emergency Rental Assistance  City of Salem/Health – Mack Park Food Farm MOTION/VOTE: Mr. Shea made a motion to fully fund the Transitional Rental Assistance at $120,000, the NSCAP Emergency Rental Assistance at $120,000 and the Mack Park Food Farm at $18,185. Mr. Moriarty seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion so carried. The COA/SHA Transitional Rental Assistance of $120,000 is under Housing Resources: Support with $3750.20 from the FY20 Budgeted Reserve, $43,969.80 from the Fund Balance and $72,280 from the FY21 Historic Reserve. Funding is conditional that the program assist those persons and families whose annual income is less than 100 percent of the area wide median income, as determined by HUD’s guidelines for the City of Salem. The NSCAP Emergency Rental Assistance of $120,000 is under Housing Resources: Support with $24,101.29 from the Fund Balance and $95,898.71 from the FY21 Budgeted Reserve. Funding is conditional that the program assist those persons and families whose annual income is less than 100 percent of the area wide median income, as determined by HUD’s guidelines for the City of Salem.  May 26, 2020, Page 4 of 10 The Mack Park Food Farm of $18,185 is under Recreational Land: Rehabilitation/Restoration with $18,185 from the FY21 Open Space/Recreation Reserve. Mr. Northcutt abstained from discussing the following application and left the virtual room.  NSCDC – New Point Acquisitions Ms. Greel was concerned about cutting the funding in half for 18 units. She was also concerned about lowering Lafayette Housing for less than that for 61 units. Mr. Hoskins stated that he felt the funding is small in proportion to the total budget and funding is provided in order to show community. Mr. Burke stated that 59 of the 61 units of Lafayette Housing are currently protected, so it is 2 additional units. Ms. Casa stated that she provided an email in detail explaining the affordability of Lafayette Housing. 58 are currently restricted for 99 years and one will expire in 2035. This project will make all 61 units permanently affordable. They are applying under Historic Resource category and significant historic preservation actions will be undertaken. Mr. Shea stated that is it just 2 new restricted units, and felt it is packaged together to get maintenance done for the other 58/59 units. He stated that he would rather fund the New Point proposal. Mr. Moriarty agreed that funding to NSCDC projects has in the past been to make a significant contribution, but not necessarily a substantial contribution. He encouraged members to not look at what we have done in the past, but look at the current housing crisis, not look at the number of units that may be directly affect, but the total of units that will be preserved within a historic structure. He stated that it is an opportunity for a two for one historic preservation and affordable housing project. He suggested substantial, if not full funding, due to the housing crisis. Mr. Hoskins asked the material difference in, for example, $75,000 versus $100,000, because we are trying to spread this funding as many project that contribute to housing that we can. He stated that we want provide enough to show there is community support to help leverage other funding sources, but no more than we need to in order to spread the funding out. Ms. Casa stated that these are hard projects to get funding and need whatever we can get locally. Ms. Guy suggested voting just on New Point Acquisitions, as all the proposals are ranked by priority, and not take both NSCDC applications up together. MOTION/VOTE: Ms. Hamilton made a motion to recommend the project for an award of $200,000. Mr. Moriarty seconded the motion. Ms. Hamilton, Mr. Moriarty and Ms. Greel voted in favor. Chair Hoskins, Vice Chair Shea, Mr. Burke, Mr. Boris and Mr. Pattison voted in opposition. The motion did not carry.  May 26, 2020, Page 5 of 10 MOTION/VOTE: Mr. Shea made a motion to recommend the project for an award of $100,000. Mr. Pattison seconded the motion. Vice Chair Shea, Mr. Burke, Mr. Boris, and Mr. Pattison voted in favor. Chair Hoskins, Ms. Hamilton, Mr. Moriarty and Ms. Greel voted in opposition. Mr. Hoskins stated that he would change his vote to a yes vote; therefore the motion carried. The funding of $100,000 will be under Housing Resources: Creation with $100,000 from the FY21 Budgeted Reserve. Funding is conditional upon the requirement that an Affordable Housing Restriction (maximum 80% AMI, that has been approved by the MA Department of Housing and Community Development) be filed at the Registry of Deeds. Mr. Northcutt rejoined the meeting.  City of Salem/DPCD – Renovation of Palmer Cove Park Mr. Burke stated that this is a ready project. He stated that the studies have been done, it is ready to go and it benefits the entire city. Mr. Northcutt stated that he feels it is a great project because it is such an awesome resource on the waterfront that is underutilized because of the design. MOTION/VOTE: Mr. Northcutt made a motion to recommend the project for an award of $100,000 under Recreational Land: Restoration/Rehabilitation with $19,095 from the FY21 Open Space/Recreation Reserve and $80,905 from the FY21 Budgeted Reserve. Mr. Pattison seconded the motion. Chair Hoskins, Vice Chair Shea, Ms. Hamilton, Mr. Northcutt, Mr. Burke, Mr. Boris, Ms. Greel and Mr. Pattison voted in favor. Mr. Moriarty voted in opposition. The motion so carried.  Salem Community Gardens – Renovations at Splaine & Pickman Community Gardens Mr. Shea stated that these are existing gardens that he feels we can support but prefer to cut the amount in half. Mr. Burke suggested funding Curtis Park by $10,000 less in order to fully fund the community gardens. He noted that it will be an actual improvement to the community gardens, while the Curtis Park project will just be a plan. Mr. Moriarty stated he was in support of full funding for the community gardens, which involves food, healthy diet, recreation and education. Ms. Greel asked where the extra food goes from the community gardens. Ms. Rosemartin stated that they provide about 100 lbs per week to HAWC during the productive months. She stated that Splaine is the priority. For Pickman, she stated that they were able to undertake some work on their own this year, so they would be amenable to dropping $2,000 from the Pickman costs. She could drop some items proposed for Splaine to get it down to  May 26, 2020, Page 6 of 10 $15,000. MOTION/VOTE: Mr. Shea made a motion to recommend the project for an award of $15,000 under Recreational Land: Rehabilitation/Restoration with $15,000 from the FY21 Open Space/Recreation Reserve Mr. Boris seconded the motion. Chair Hoskins, Vice Chair Shea, Ms. Hamilton, Mr. Northcutt, Mr. Burke, Mr. Boris, Ms. Greel and Mr. Pattison voted in favor. Mr. Moriarty voted in opposition. The motion so carried.  City of Salem/Park & Rec. – Charles R. Curtis Memorial Park Redesign Mr. Burke stated that money for the park designer is well-spent. He stated that he hoped the soil study is not necessary. He stated that he felt the project is important, but felt $25,000 is adequate. He stated he would advocate for more funding when the park is ready to be built. Mr. Northcutt agreed that $20-25,000 is appropriate and more funding at construction. Mr. Shea stated that he would cut back $5,500 for community engagement and questioned the $6,000 for a property survey. Mr. Moriarty agreed that the park could be important for dual uses, including a playground for the adjacent school, but felt the request was excessive. He stated he felt $15,000 would be adequate. Mr. Pattison agreed with $15,000 or $20,000. MOTION/VOTE: Mr. Burke made a motion to recommend the project for an award of $20,000 under Recreational Land: Rehabilitation/Restoration with $20,000 from the FY21 Open Space/Recreation Reserve. Ms. Greel seconded the motion. Chair Hoskins, Vice Chair Shea, Ms. Hamilton, Mr. Northcutt, Mr. Burke, Mr. Boris, Ms. Greel and Mr. Pattison voted in favor. Mr. Moriarty voted in opposition. The motion so carried.  Brookhouse Home – Brick Repointing Project, Phase 2 Ms. Greel stated that she understood that the project needs to be finished, but noted that they have an anonymous donor and the CPC has cut other projects. She questioned if the award should also be reduced. Mr. Shea stated that not every project has been cut. Martha Ryan, Vice President of the Board at the Brookhouse Home, noted that while it is an historic restoration category, it is housing for 36 senior women and it is important that the project be completed by December to seal the envelope before Winter. The total is $336,000, but the unfunded portion is the $50,640. The anonymous donor was approximately $175,640 of the funds needed to complete the remaining elevations.  May 26, 2020, Page 7 of 10 Mr. Moriarty stated that this is another two for one - historic structure and an important social service. They have always raised funds through other sources for their projects and are not solely dependent on CPA. MOTION/VOTE: Mr. Shea made a motion to recommend the project for an award of $50,640 under Historic Resources: Rehabilitation/Restoration with $50,640 from the FY21 Budgeted Reserve. The award is conditional that a Preservation Restriction be executed with the City of Salem. Mr. Boris seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion so carried. Mr. Northcutt abstained from discussing the following application and left the virtual room.  NSCDC – Lafayette Housing II Limited Partnership Mr. Shea stated that he supports funding the two new affordable units, but not funding the remainder already existing. Mr. Pattison was in agreement. Ms. Guy stated that when going for other funding, they do no need to show some City support. It may be a drop in the bucket for a $50,000,000 project, but it does make a difference for match money. Mr. Moriarty stated that it would be support public housing and maintaining and restoring a historic property that provides continuous substantial, safe housing for its tenants in need. He stated that the CPC should not penalize the people who live there or deny the structure an opportunity to be improved. It is consistent with our mission, particularly in this year where it is of paramount importance. Mr. Burke stated he would support a motion of $50,000 and would also support up to $100,000. Ms. Casa stated it is a project with a significant need. 37% of the units service people under 50% of median income. It will really have an impact in the neighborhood. MOTION: Mr. Pattison made a motion to recommend the project for an award of $50,000. Mr. Shea seconded the motion. Ms. Greel stated that she agreed with Mr. Moriarty and the dignity that they give in terms of the way the rehab their buildings. She stated that she felt it should be funded at $200,000. VOTE: Vice Chair Shea, Mr. Burke and Mr. Pattison voted in favor. Chair Hoskins, Ms. Hamilton, Mr. Moriarty, Ms. Greel and Mr. Boris voted in opposition. The motion did not carry. MOTION/VOTE: Mr. Boris made a motion to recommend the project for an award of $100,000. Mr. Burke seconded the motion. Chair Hoskins, Mr. Moriarty, Mr. Burke, Mr. Boris voted in favor. Mr. Pattison, Ms. Hamilton, Ms. Greel and Vice Chair Shea voted in opposition. The motion did not carry.  May 26, 2020, Page 8 of 10 Ms. Pattison stated that they get so much funding other than CPC money. Ms. Hamilton stated it is a community support issue. She stated that she would hate to see them not get the funding they are counting on because the community is not giving them enough support. She stated that under a $100,000 is not showing that the community is behind this. Mr. Moriarty stated we should not penalize people because they are successful in obtaining funds from alternative sources. It is consistent with what our guidelines indicate. Public housing is the priority. $125,000 is the right figure. MOTION/VOTE: Ms. Greel made a motion to recommend the project for an award of $125,000. Mr. Boris seconded the motion. Ms. Hamilton, Ms. Greel, Mr. Moriarty and Mr. Boris voted in favor. Chair Hoskins, Mr. Pattison, Mr. Burke and Vice Chair Shea voted in opposition. The motion did not carry. MOTION: Mr. Burke made a motion to recommend the project for an award of $75,000. Mr. Pattison seconded the motion. Ms. Greel asked if the remaining funding is intended to support the Phillips House. Mr. Hoskins stated he is hearing that the buildings are in desperately bad shape, they are providing housing and it is historic. He stated that the funds for Phillips would go into preserving housing more quickly, while Lafayette has a longer road ahead. Ms. Hamilton stated that she did not feel the Salem Housing Authority has done their homework. She agreed it was existing housing that she wants to support, but did not feel there was a lot of backbone behind the numbers. Ms. Hoog stated that she submitted another estimate after having a project manager from DHCD create an estimate based on the square footage and materials that was forwarded. The estimate was based on data into a software program and prior experience of similar projects. Mr. Shea stated that the estimate recently submitted is much more definitive and he feels it is worthy of awarding funding. Ms. Greel noted that Lafayette was rated high and that it deserves more than $75,000 and the rest are rated medium. Mr. Moriarty agreed that it was rated high. He stated that he would not vote for anything that is not six figures. Ms. Casa stated that it is 11 buildings in the Point when considering the historic impact. VOTE: Mr. Boris, Mr. Pattison and Mr. Burke and voted in favor. Chair Hoskins, Ms. Greel, Mr. Moriarty, Vice Chair Shea, and Ms. Hamilton and voted in opposition. The motion did not carry. Ms. Hamilton stated that she would change her vote on $100,000 from no to yes.  May 26, 2020, Page 9 of 10 MOTION/VOTE: Mr. Boris made a motion to recommend the project for an award of $100,000. Ms. Hamilton seconded the motion under Historic Resources: Rehabilitation/Restoration with $72,280 from the FY21 Historic Reserve and $27,720 from the FY21 Budgeted Reserve. The award is conditional that a Preservation Restriction be executed with the City of Salem. Ms. Hamilton, Ms. Greel, Chair Hoskins, Mr. Moriarty, Mr. Burke and Mr. Boris voted in favor. Mr. Pattison and Vice Chair Shea voted in opposition. The motion so carried. Mr. Northcutt rejoined the meeting.  City of Salem/Fire – Historic Fire Station Envelope Rehabilitation MOTION/VOTE: Mr. Shea made a motion to recommend the project for an award of $17,975 under Historic Resources: Rehabilitation/Restoration with $17,975 from the FY21 Budgeted Reserve. Mr. Boris seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion so carried.  Salem Housing Authority – Phillips House Restoration MOTION/VOTE: Ms. Greel made a motion to recommend the project for an award of $171,681.29 under Historic Resources: Preservation with $171,681.29 from the FY21 Budgeted Reserve. Mr. Pattison seconded the motion. Mr. Northcutt stated that he was not opposed but questioned if there was some discussion to save some funds for the fall for rental assistance. Mr. Shea stated that the two requests were over-funded and under the new proposal the Phillips House submitted, the remaining funds would be just under half and felt that awarding it the Housing Authority would be the right thing to do. Ms. Guy noted that in the fall, after the DOR certifies the fiscal year, there usually is funding left that we can access in November from surcharges that were exceeded the estimate and/or additional State match funds. VOTE: The motion was voted on. All were in favor and the motion so carried. Funding is conditional upon the requirement that a Preservation Restriction, approved by the Massachusetts Historical Commission, be filed at the Registry of Deeds. MOTION: Mr. Burke made a motion to carry over the following remaining projects to the next round:  City of Salem/Park & Rec. – Forest River Pool, Bathhouse & Associated Facilities Design & Permitting – Bond Request  City of Salem/Park & Rec. – Willows Restoration Phase 1  Salem Public Library – Restoration of Poseidon Fountain  May 26, 2020, Page 10 of 10  City of Salem/Park & Rec. – Phase II Golf Cart Path Renovation VOTE: Mr. Shea seconded the motion, all were in favor and the motion so carried. Next Meeting(s) The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 9, 2020 at 6pm, if needed. Ms. Guy stated that there are currently no agenda items. Ms. Guy stated that this is Mr. Shea’s last meeting and would like to thank him for his service. Mr. Shea stated that he enjoyed serving on the committee and felt the CPC does a great job. He stated that there are some differences of opinion at times, but in the end come up with the right decisions. Mr. Burke thanked Mr. Hoskins and Ms. Guy for managing the process. There being no further business, Ms. Greel made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Boris seconded the motion; all were in favor, and the motion so carried. Respectfully submitted, Jane A. Guy Administrator