DRAFT.12-02-09 VILLAGE HILL NORTHAMPTON
CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Mayor’s Office
210 Main Street Room 12
Northampton, MA 01060-3199
(413) 587-1249 Fax: (413) 587-1275
mayor@northamptonma.gov
State Senator Stanley C. Rosenberg
Ex-Officio
State Representative Peter Kocot
Ex-Officio
___________________________
Mary Clare Higgins, Mayor
City of Northampton
David Narkewicz
City Council Industrial Affairs Committee
David Modzelewski
Department of Mental Health
Reverend R. Leroy Moser
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill
of Western Mass., Inc.
Rutherford Platt
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill
of Western Mass., Inc.
Edward Skroski
Northampton Development Corporation
Charles DeRose
Northampton Development Corporation
Daniel Yacuzzo
Northampton Chamber of Commerce
Bruce Fogel, Esq.
Northampton Chamber of Commerce
Michael Rabourn
Northampton Labor Council
Martha Ackelsberg
Northampton Housing Partnership
Francis Johnson
Northampton Planning Board
David Drake
Historical Preservation
Joseph Blumenthal
Route 66 Neighborhood Representative
Harriet Diamond
Grove Street Neighborhood Representative
Jami Albro-Fisher
Route 10 Neighborhood Representative
D R A F T MEETING MINUTES
Citizens Advisory Committee
for Village Hill Northampton
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
5:00 pm
John F. Kennedy Middle School
in the library
Present: Members of the Citizens Advisory Committee
Name:
As representative of:
Joseph Blumenthal
Route 66 Neighborhood
Charles DeRose
Northampton Development Corporation
Harriet Diamond
Grove Street Neighborhood
Bruce Fogel, Esq.
Northampton Chamber of Commerce
Martha Ackelsberg
Northampton Housing Partnership
Francis A. Johnson
Northampton Planning Board
David Narkewicz
City Council
Rutherford Platt
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill
Michael Rabourn
Northampton Labor Council
Absent: Members of the Citizens Advisory Committee
Name:
As representative of:
Mayor Mary Clare Higgins
City of Northampton
David Drake
Historical Preservation
Jami Albro-Fisher
Route 10 Neighborhood
David Modzelewski
Department of Mental Health
Rev. R. Leroy Moser
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill
Edward Skroski
Northampton Development Corporation
Daniel Yacuzzo
Northampton Chamber of Commerce
City Staffers & Board Members:
Kimball Howes
Historical Commission
Teri Anderson
Economic Development Coordinator
Development Team:
MassDevelopment Elizabeth Murphy Vice Pres. Of Real Estate Development and
Project Manager of Village Hill
Others:
Jackie Duda The Fountain Project Justin Pelis The Fountain Project Mary Pelis The Fountain Project Anna Schuleit The Fountain Project Benjamin Spencer Rust Avenue resident Patrick
Goggins Real estate developer on Village Hill
1. Call to Order
Because a family emergency prevented Mayor Higgins from attending, Councilor David Narkewicz, CAC chaired the meeting. A quorum having been reached, he called the meeting to order at
5:15 p.m. He introduced Martha Ackelsberg, who succeeds Jack Hornor in representing the Housing Partnership on the CAC. Councilor Narkewicz asked other CAC members to introduce themselves
to her by name and affiliation.
2. Approval of Minutes
Councilor David Narkewicz, CAC chair: Do you wish to consider both sets of meetings in one vote? Yes. A motion to approve the minutes of the 03/04/09 and 06/17/09 meetings of the CAC
was moved by Joseph Blumenthal, seconded by Harriet Diamond, and voted in the affirmative, with new CAC member Martha Ackelsberg abstaining.
3. Project Updates
Beth Murphy, MassDevelopment:
Improvements to the Grove Street/Laurel Street/Burts Pit Road area have been completed, with the traffic light functioning. This project went very smoothly.
The Kollmorgen relocation project began at the beginning of November 2009. We are prepared to pour the foundation before winter 2009.
Wright Builders began work on the town houses. Such tasks as framing the houses will continue through the winter 2009 to be ready in the summer of 2010.
The Moser Street project has been substantially completed. It will be allowed to settle over the winter and the top course will be laid in spring 2010.
The Coach House improvements have been done. The developers are very happy with how this project turned out and encourage everyone to visit the site to see them.
Rutherford Platt, CAC: Is the Coach House primarily a one-floor structure?
Beth Murphy: There is a basement with access from the back, first floor and a loft. None of that can carry much of a load as it is now, but could with work be turned into a two-storey
building.
Councilor David Narkewicz, CAC chair: Is the building actively being marketed?
Beth Murphy: Yes.
Jackie Duda, Fountain Project: What type of tenant are you seeking?
Beth Murphy: The Coach House should attract a commercial tenant with its available parking and nice outdoor area.
Bruce Fogel, Esq., CAC: You mentioned progress on the Moser Street extension. What is its timeframe overall?
Beth Murphy: We are looking for a residential developer.
Bruce Fogel, Esq.: Did you formulate a Request for Proposals?
Beth Murphy: Yes, an RFP was issued but we will go beyond that method to attract a tenant. Ideally, we would line someone up for spring 2010.
4. Proposed Fountain Subcommittee
Teri Anderson, Director of Community & Economic Development: She and Mayor Higgins met with Mary Pelis, Jackie Duda and Anna Schuleit on October 5, 2009 to strategize how to move
the fountain project forward. These volunteers are eager to apply for funding. Having an official status with the CAC will help them with applying, notably the preliminary application
due in January 2010 for Community Preservation Act funding. To that end, Teri distributed the following motion:
MOTION:
To appoint a subcommittee that will act under the auspices of the Northampton State Hospital Citizens Advisory Committee to plan, design, and fund the fountain memorial that will be
placed at Village Hill as a memorial to the memory of the people who lived and worked at the former Northampton State Hospital. Members to include:
Mary Pelis
Jackie Duda
Kim Howes
Anna Schuleit
Barbara Blumenthal
Councilor David Narkewicz, CAC chair: Introduced Mary Pelis, Jackie Duda and Anna Schuleit.
Jackie Duda, Fountain Project: Distributed a handout, text copied below. Jackie is a former employee of Northampton State Hospital and a friend of Mary Pelis, who was a nurse there.
Jackie summarized the points in her handout:
Design Concept
The Fountain Project
The design concept behind the landscape proposal for the fountain setting is built around the circularity of the fountain. Using the fountain as an axis, the ground plane radiates from
the fountain, as it is composed of the same brick that once structured the main building of the state hospital. As the fountain was once central to the Northampton State Hospital, so
it will remain central to its newly created space built at the original fountain site.
The design concept was built with two objectives in mind. The first objective is to create a space that would highlight the importance of the fountain, but more so the history of the
site. The second objective is to create a space that is inviting and pleasing to the local visitors. In order to emphasize the importance of the fountain and historical site, the fountain
and occupying space are framed using a series of three circular arching arbors, from which wisteria vine will climb and fall simultaneously. The climbing and falling nature of the wisteria
vine act to replicate the similar animations fashioned by the fountain’s water as it rises and falls from its dual basins.
The plant material composing the space is chosen to reinforce the circular form of the site. The half circular hedge creates a strong line that helps carry the viewer’s eye into the
space. The trees around the periphery are planted on a radial grid using the fountain as the axis. The plant materials not only assist to define the space, but also function to make
it more inviting by enclosing it and creating privacy.
Jackie Duda, Fountain Project: We are looking to add a member of the CAC to take a leadership role on our proposed subcommittee. The restorer who worked with us, Jeffrey Bronnes of
the Royalston Arts Foundry, says the fountain is very restorable and could in fact come back as a working fountain. Jackie passed around for viewing the poster labeled State Hospital
in Memoriam, depicting the hospital complex in 1880. This fundraising poster accompanied Anna Schuleit’s work, the performance of Bach’s Magnificat at the campus on Saturday, November
18, 2000.
Jackie noted that her handout included the Design Concept from the booklet proposing the fountain project back in 2003. She quoted from the booklet Anna’s mother, installation artist
Eleonore Scriba, who proposed the fountain’s inscription to read, “This is the fountain of all the tears that have been shed here.”
Councilor David Narkewicz, CAC chair: Thank you so much for your presentation. Any questions?
Joseph Blumenthal, CAC: I think it is reasonable to have a member of the CAC to join the Fountain Subcommittee. I am willing to volunteer for anything other than fundraising if no other
CAC member steps forward.
Harriet Diamond, CAC: Will MassDevelopment contribute to the fountain project?
Joseph Blumenthal: I believe the services of a landscape architect were offered by them.
Beth Murphy, MassDevelopment: Once the project is up and running we will be happy to share our landscaper as needed.
Anna Schuleit, Fountain Project: According to the Massachusetts Historical Commission, since the property has been listed on the Register of Historic Places, there should be some provision
to develop the site.
Bruce Fogel, Esq., CAC: As laudable as these ideas are, does the CAC’s enabling legislation permit us to appoint such a subcommittee?
Councilor David Narkewicz, CAC chair: The CAC has formed other working groups. Do you view the applicant as a CAC/Fountain Memorial committee?
Jackie Duda, Fountain Project: We have not planned to that point.
Councilor David Narkewicz: I think Attorney Fogel’s thought is that if funds are applied for in the CAC’s name, we CAC members would need to see exactly what is being applied for.
Teri Anderson, Director of Community & Economic Development: The January 2010 deadline by the Community Preservation Committee is for the one-page Project Eligibility Determination
Form that begins the application process. Only when the project has been found eligible for CPA funding may the fountain project submit the full application.
Joseph Blumenthal, CAC: There is no doubt that the CAC has the authority to provide for the memorialization
Martha Ackelsberg, CAC: I am in agreement with Attorney Fogel. It is important that we on the CAC have an official line of reporting before any such subcommittee is approved. I wonder
why the fountain volunteers do not take the leadership role yourselves. Why add a CAC member?
Jackie Duda, Fountain Project: After speaking with Mayor Higgins and Teri Anderson I now see that the project’s scope is much larger than I had thought.
Bruce Fogel, Esq., CAC: The boards that I am familiar with would have a subcommittee of members who are all members of the board as a whole. There are no outside members. I would be
more comfortable describing the fountain group as an ad hoc committee rather than subcommittee.
Anna Schuleit, Fountain Project: We are doing more than serving as an advisory group.
Harriet Diamond, CAC: They wish to be the committee to bring the fountain to fruition.
Martha Ackelsberg, CAC: We have a problem of semantics.
Bruce Fogel, Esq.: I have a problem with how the group is characterized.
Harriet Diamond: I do not.
Jackie Duda, Fountain Project: I will communicate to you whatever information you as the CAC seek. You will be with us every step of the way via group email list.
Harriet Diamond, CAC: These volunteers already have worked under the CAC’s auspices since 2003.
Joseph Blumenthal, CAC: Bruce, will you formulate other language that you prefer?
Bruce Fogel, Esq., CAC: I suppose I could. I wish to be clear that I am not saying the fountain group’s process and end product won’t be perfect. I am saying that if the fountain volunteers
are to be a subcommittee of the CAC of which I am a member, I will vote against this motion.
Joseph Blumenthal: You can’t expect the subcommittee to come before the full CAC before every decision. The fountain was the most attractive of the ideas presented to the Memorialization
Committee. We owe it to the volunteers’ willingness and energy to allow them to move ahead. If we do not, nothing will happen in the way of a memorial, and we the CAC will be unable
to complete our duty to memorialize what has stood before on that site. The CAC already has endorsed their fountain idea.
Harriet Diamond, CAC: If we didn’t have concrete information about what the project shall be, if we didn’t know personally the fountain volunteers, if we had not worked already with
them for a number of years, I could understand some hesitation. However, there are no unknowns about this fountain project.
Teri Anderson, Director of Community & Economic Development: There will be time for a full discussion of the fountain design. We need to apply first for CPA funds even to begin the
design concept.
Martha Ackelsberg, CAC: Offered an amended motion:
MOTION:
To appoint an ad hoc committee under the auspices of the Northampton State Hospital Citizens Advisory Committee to offer plans, designs, and funding activities for the fountain memorial
that will be placed at Village Hill as a memorial to the memory of the people who lived and worked at the former Northampton State Hospital, and to report back to the CAC periodically
about its activities.
Members to include:
CAC member(s)
Mary Pelis
Jackie Duda
Kim Howes
Anna Schuleit
Barbara Blumenthal
Harriet Diamond, CAC: But that change would make it the job of the CAC to undertake the fountain project.
Councilor David Narkewicz, CAC chair: Explained the difference between the two types of group.
Subcommittee: generally a standing body comprised of a smaller group of members of the larger body;
whereas
ad hoc committee: generally created temporarily to carry out a specific task and can be comprised of both members and non-members of the larger body, such as what is being proposed today
for the fountain committee.
Teri Anderson, Director of Community & Economic Development: Offered an amended motion:
MOTION:
To appoint a subcommittee that will act under the auspices of the Northampton State Hospital Citizens Advisory Committee to recommend and implement with CAC approval a plan, design,
and funding for the fountain memorial that will be placed at Village Hill as a memorial to the memory of the people who lived and worked at the former Northampton State Hospital, and
to report back to the CAC periodically about its activities.
Members to include CAC and non-CAC members as follows:
Mary Pelis
Jackie Duda
Kim Howes
Anna Schuleit
Barbara Blumenthal
Joseph Blumenthal
Moved by Charles DeRose,
Seconded by Harriet Diamond.
Bruce Fogel, Esq., CAC: My friendly amendment would be to change subcommittee to ad hoc committee and add the words, “… with prior approval by the CAC.”
Jackie Duda, Fountain Project: Whatever the wording we will get the work done and come back to report to you regularly because we will be proud of what we are achieving. “We are willing,
are you willing?”
Teri Anderson, Director of Community & Economic Development: I am not sure the CAC needs to approve this preliminary application because there is no decision-making involved. We simply
aim to hire someone to do the design.
VOTE ON MOTION
To appoint a subcommittee that will act under the auspices of the Northampton State Hospital Citizens Advisory Committee to recommend and implement with CAC approval a plan, design,
and funding for the fountain memorial that will be placed at Village Hill as a memorial to the memory of the people who lived and worked at the former Northampton State Hospital, and
to report back to the CAC periodically about its activities.
Members to include CAC and non-CAC members as follows:
Mary Pelis
Jackie Duda
Kim Howes
Anna Schuleit
Barbara Blumenthal
Joseph Blumenthal
YES NO ABSTAIN ABSENT JOSEPH BLUMENTHAL √ CHARLES DEROSE √ HARRIET DIAMOND √ BRUCE FOGEL, ESQ. √ MARTHA ACKELSBERG √ FRANDY JOHNSON √ DAVID NARKEWICZ √ RUTHERFORD
H. PLATT √ MICHAEL RABOURN √ EDWARD SKROSKI √ DANIEL YACUZZO √ JAMI ALBRO-FISHER √ DAVID DRAKE √ DAVID MODZELEWSKI √ REV. R. LEROY MOSER √ MAYOR MARY
CLARE HIGGINS √
YES: 7
NO: 1
ABSTAIN: 1
Councilor David Narkewicz, CAC chair: Now we need a motion that this newly formed committee may apply to the Community Preservation Committee.
MOTION:
To authorize the Fountain Subcommittee to apply for a Project Eligibility Determination Form to the Community Preservation Committee and any other granting organization.
Moved by Martha Ackelsberg,
Seconded by Joseph Blumenthal.
VOTE ON MOTION
To authorize the Fountain Subcommittee to apply for a Project Eligibility Determination Form to the Community Preservation Committee and any other granting organization.
YES NO ABSTAIN ABSENT JOSEPH BLUMENTHAL √ CHARLES DEROSE √ HARRIET DIAMOND √ BRUCE FOGEL, ESQ. √ MARTHA ACKELSBERG √ FRANDY JOHNSON √ DAVID NARKEWICZ √ RUTHERFORD
H. PLATT √ MICHAEL RABOURN √ EDWARD SKROSKI √ DANIEL YACUZZO √ JAMI ALBRO-FISHER √ DAVID DRAKE √ DAVID MODZELEWSKI √ REV. R. LEROY MOSER √ MAYOR MARY
CLARE HIGGINS √
YES: 8
NO: 1
5:40 At the conclusion of this discussion Jackie Duda, Mary and Justin Pelis and Anna Schuleit left the meeting.
Councilor David Narkewicz, CAC chair: Any questions?
Rutherford Platt, CAC: After all the time spent discussing how to memorialize times and people in the past, I ask the CAC to spend some time seeing about what the living clients of the
Department of Mental Health want on site, such as counseling and other amenities. I propose that the CAC meet on the State Hospital site to allow the people who live there to tell us
what they would like as amenities, such as landscaping, playgrounds and meeting space.
Councilor David Narkewicz, CAC chair: If there is no meeting space at the site, there is a way to flyer those who live there. I know because I have done so.
Rutherford Platt, CAC: That exactly highlights the problem: There is no common meeting space on Village Hill.
Martha Ackelsberg, CAC: Why a motion now for a full CAC meeting on site before the Amenities Subcommittee has met with the residents to assess their needs?
Rutherford Platt: It is difficult for subcommittee members to get together, difficult to find a meeting room and difficult to post the meeting.
Joseph Blumenthal, CAC: The church located at Laurel and Chapel Streets might be willing to hold a meeting, but I think that would be premature. Some day there will be more than two
members of the property owners association at Village Hill. We on the CAC have no idea who they will be. We need to wait until more people live and own property on Village Hill.
Rutherford Platt: How many entities there now contain people?
Beth Murphy, MassDevelopment: There are 73 apartments.
Rutherford Platt: Some of them are Department of Mental Health clients so we should act. I offer the following motion:
MOTION:
That the full CAC shall convene its next meeting at or close to Village Hill, and shall arrange for publicizing that open meeting to the residents there so that they may bring forward
their suggestions for amenities such as landscaping, playgrounds and community room.
Moved by Rutherford Platt,
Seconded by Martha Ackelsberg.
Joseph Blumenthal, CAC: Such an open-ended offer as this should be organized by the Amenities Subcommittee. You should approach the church to secure the meeting space. CAC meetings themselves
always have other agenda items that must be discussed and voted on.
VOTE ON MOTION
That the full CAC shall convene its next meeting at or close to Village Hill, and shall arrange for publicizing that open meeting to the residents there so that they may bring forward
their suggestions for amenities such as landscaping, playgrounds and community room.
YES NO ABSTAIN ABSENT JOSEPH BLUMENTHAL √ CHARLES DEROSE √ HARRIET DIAMOND √ BRUCE FOGEL, ESQ. √ MARTHA ACKELSBERG √ FRANDY JOHNSON √ DAVID NARKEWICZ √ RUTHERFORD
H. PLATT √ MICHAEL RABOURN √ EDWARD SKROSKI √ DANIEL YACUZZO √ JAMI ALBRO-FISHER √ DAVID DRAKE √ DAVID MODZELEWSKI √ REV. R. LEROY MOSER √ MAYOR MARY
CLARE HIGGINS √
YES: 7
NO: 2
5. Other Business
Councilor David Narkewicz, CAC chair: Anything else?
Benjamin Spencer, 8 Rust Avenue: Will the CAC entertain public comment tonight?
Councilor David Narkewicz, CAC chair: Yes.
Benjamin Spencer: In the site plan for the Kollmorgen facility, where is the bikepath? Has that been eliminated?
Beth Murphy, MassDevelopment: The bikepath will happen.
Benjamin Spencer, 8 Rust Avenue: I will read from the 1992 plan for the State Hospital site produced by the Planning Board.
State Hospital Plan: An Element of the Northampton General Plan
Adopted by the Northampton Planning Board
March 26, 1992, Revised April 8, 1993
From page 1, Introduction:
If the Commonwealth does eventually dispose of a majority of the complex, the potential redevelopment of the two hundred acres of land with well over half a million square feet of existing
buildings could have extremely significant impacts in Northampton. The redevelopment of this area could potentially create a new Industrial Park Larger than the existing park, an Office
Park, or a large sprawling residential subdivision, all of which would have significant traffic and environmental impacts. Alternatively, the area could become a new mixed use village
center surrounded by a cohesive residential neighborhood and designed to broaden Northampton’s tax base and meets a wide variety of community goals.
Benjamin Spencer, Rust Avenue: I am seeing that very industrial park and a large subdivision. We have lost something.
Charles DeRose, CAC: What did we lose?
Benjamin Spencer: A truly sustainable village.
Charles DeRose: How do you define sustainable?
Benjamin Spencer: Most simply as a resident being able to purchase a gallon of milk on site, without needing to get into a car to drive.
Charles DeRose: Do you think the current plan was designed to omit a convenience store?
Benjamin Spencer: I think it was not designed to encourage strongly enough such amenities as a convenience store.
Charles DeRose: These issues are market driven.
Bruce Fogel, Esq., CAC: 17 years later the realities of the economy are what they are, but ultimately housing, jobs and affordability remain the initial component of the entire project.
And especially with MassDevelopment on board, this project contains elements that the City would never have achieved with a private developer. I appreciate your clarity but I disagree
with your conclusion.
Harriet Diamond, CAC: It seems to me that things changed with Kollmorgen’s move to the site. Benjamin, I heard you on the radio and read your letter in the Daily Hampshire Gazette in
support of keeping Kollmorgen as an employer in Northampton.
Benjamin Spencer: I think you understand my point. The Kollmorgen building and parking lot could be less of a Home Depot® in design.
6. Adjournment
Hearing no other public comment, Councilor David Narkewicz, CAC chair entertained a motion to adjourn. Motion to adjourn was moved by Bruce Fogel, Esq., CAC, seconded by Michael Rabourn,
CAC, and voted unanimously in the affirmative.
The meeting adjourned at 6:35 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Corinne Philippides
Mayoral Aide
December 15, 2009
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DRAFT