Community Preservation Committee

COMMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMITTEE MINUTES November 15, 2022 A regular meeting of the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) was held on Tuesday, November 15, 2022 at 6:00 pm via remote participation through Zoom. Present were Bart Hoskins (Chair), Joy Livramento-Bryant, Carole Hamilton (Vice Chair), John Boris, Bob Callahan, Mark Pattison, Deborah Greel and Kate Martin. Also present was Patti Kelleher of the City of Salem Department of Planning & Community Development. Public Comment Elena Eimert, Planner, introduced herself and stated that she was available to answer any questions the Committee may have on the Willows Phase II funding request. Approval of Minutes – 10/11/22 MOTION/VOTE: Mr. Callahan made a motion to approve the minutes of October 11, 2022 as amended. Mr. Boris seconded the motion, all were in favor (Ms. Livramento-Bryant and Mr. Hoskins abstained) and the motion so carried. Review and Vote on Funding Applications received Ms. Kelleher reported that one funding application was received from the City of Salem Park and Recreation for Salem Willows Phase II Improvements. The Committee requested Ms. Eimert to provide a summary of the request. Ms. Eimert stated that Phase II of the Willows improvement project will address needed improvements at the southeast section of the park near the pier. The City received a PARC grant for the project but the City needs to pay for costs not covered by the grant. This includes a preservation study that was required by the Massachusetts Historical Commission through their review of the grant. The City is requesting $90,548.49 outside of the regular funding round cycle due to the condensed timeline of the grant. Ms. Kelleher noted that the CPA has funds available in the fund balance. Mr. Hoskins spoke in support of using leftover funds and noted that the CPA request was just a small portion of the project total. He also noted that funding this project demonstrates support for leveraging additional grant funding. Ms. Greel agreed and noted that Phase II would continue work already completed at the park. She asked if resiliency measures would be included in the new design project. She also asked how the CPC has addressed previous requests for funding outside of the regular funding cycle. Mr. Hoskins stated that he doesn’t think the CPC had experienced an emergency request before and wondered if it was addressed in the Annual Plan. He noted that the CPC has favored eligible City projects. Mr. Callahan asked how much remains in the fund balance. Ms. Kelleher responded that $177,810 remains.  CPC Meeting Minutes November 15, 2022 Page 2 of 3 Ms. Livramento-Bryant expressed support for the project but was concerned about establishing precedent for future emergency requests. Mr. Hoskins suggested adding language to the FY24 Plan to establish priorities for considering emergency out-of-cycle requests. This could include: did applicant look for other funding; do matching funds have timeline constraints; and prioritization of city projects. Ms. Livramento-Bryant asked how this project would factor into the full funding round and if it would go into one of the category allocations. Ms. Kelleher noted that the Committee could consider adding language for prioritizing emergency requests to the Annual Plan at their meeting in December. MOTION/VOTE: Mr. Callahan made a motion to approve the request for $90,548.49 in CPA funding for the Willows Phase II Improvements. Ms. Greel seconded the motion, all were in favor and the motion so carried. Review and Vote on Determination of Eligibility Applications received Ms. Kelleher reported that no eligibility applications were received. Other Business Election of Chair and Vice Chair MOTION/VOTE: Mr. Callahan made a motion to elect Bart Hoskins as Chair and Carole Hamilton as Vice Chair. Mr. Boris seconded the motion, all were in favor and the motion so carried. Mr. Callahan left the meeting at this time Next Meetings: December 13, 2022. Ms. Kelleher stated that the next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 8, 2021, which will tentatively be to review the draft plan and any additional comments received from boards or the public. Boards and the public may provide written comment until October 22, 2021. The Committee discussed how to address possible precedent with funding applications outside of the regular funding round. They considered adding criteria for emergency funding to the FY24 Plan. This could include the language discussed for the Willows Phase II request – leveraging additional funding, funding constraints and prioritization of City projects. After discussion, the Committee agreed that these criteria already in place for regular CPA funding round, which could carry over to any emergency funding requests received. Therefore, no changes are needed.  CPC Meeting Minutes November 15, 2022 Page 3 of 3 There being no further business, Ms. Hamilton made a motion to adjourn at 7:00pm. Mr. Boris seconded the motion; all were in favor, and the motion so carried. Respectfully submitted, Patti Kelleher CPA Administrator