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Agenda and Minutes 2007-06-20 Community Preservation Committee Agenda DATE: Wednesday, June 20, 2007 TIME: 7:00 PM PLACE: City Council Chambers, 212 Main Street (BEHIND City Hall) Agenda 1. Public Comment Period 2. Approval of Minutes for 05/29/2007 3. Chair’s Report 4. CPC project evaluation criteria workshop 5. Discussion on CPC staffing 6. Any other necessary business Minutes Community Preservation Committee DATE: Wednesday June 20, 2007 TIME: 7:00 PM PLACE: City Council Chambers, 212 Main Street (BEHIND City Hall) Members Present: Jack Hornor, Chris Kennedy, Donald Bianchi, Mason Maronn and John Andrulis (7:17 PM) Staff Present: Wayne Feiden, Bruce Young Jack Hornor opened the meeting at 7:00 PM. Public Comment : Joanne Montgomery-161 Crescent Street-Joanne introduced herself to the Committee as a resident of the City of Northampton and board member of the Nonotuck Land Fund. Chris Kennedy moved to approve the minutes for May 29, 2007 Don Bianchi seconded the motion All in favor Chair’s report Jack Hornor gave a brief report on the process of the Community Preservation Act (CPA) project selection in Northampton: The process begins with the Community Preservation Committee (CPC). The CPC reviews project proposals and makes recommendations to the Mayor. The Mayor reviews the CPC recommendations and decides whether or not to send the project and CPC recommendations to City Council. City Council decides whether or not to approve projects, approve projects with conditions, approve projects with less funding than recommended, or deny projects. Jack Hornor reported that the City of Northampton Financial Director has completed the necessary CPA financial paperwork and all CPA financial transfers will be completed by the end of the fiscal year. Jack Hornor and Chris Kennedy discussed the Daily Hampshire Gazette article Spending nd plans come up for 2 Council Vote for the potential Turkey Hill Acquisition Project. The article stated that the city plans to pay for a percentage of the purchase using CPA funds. Wayne Feiden explained to the Committee that potential applicants applying for competitive grants will list CPA funds as a potential for the required matching funds. Wayne added that the grant application process typically happens before applicants apply for additional funding sources. Jack Hornor reported that he met with the Mayor to discuss the CPC. Jack reported that the Mayor would prefer CPA project proposals that require funding for City projects be submitted in sync with the City budget process. *Note-Capital Improvement Projects were submitted by May in 2007. Project Evaluation Criteria Wayne Feiden Discussed the General CPC Project Evaluation Criteria Section The CPC decided to use the term “community housing” in place of “affordable housing.” The CPC would like to add a glossary of terms from M.G.L. c. 44B to their project evaluation criteria and application packets. The CPC discussed using very specific application guidelines (similar to grant applications) for large projects and a one-two page application for smaller projects. The CPC discussed using a point system for the application process and allocating additional points to applicants if they meet the deadline CPC application deadlines. The CPC decided not to use a point system for Project Evaluation Criteria. The CPC discussed using quarterly application deadlines instead of an annual deadline. The CPC decided that if an applicant is required to cite existing City plans, and those plans are outdated, such as the Historical Preservation Plan, the applicant should be required to cite other relevant City plans, such as the Sustainable Northampton Plan. The CPC discussed a two-tiered criteria system with basic threshold criteria and competitive criteria The CPC discussed projects that leverage other funding and whether a project would provide leverage to additional investments in the community. Wayne Feiden discussed the Open Space Criteria Section The CPC agreed that projects that incorporate affordable housing and open space should receive extra points for meeting criteria that overlaps both categories. Wayne Feiden discussed the Community Housing Criteria Section The CPC discussed adding preserve the statement “create more affordable housing.” The CPC discussed adding additional criteria to promote mixed-use developments. The CPC would like additional information than traditional income, homeownership, and rental rates for potential housing targets. The CPC would like to see project proposals that enhance social services by providing housing through nonprofit organizations. The CPC would like to promote projects that serve the underserved populations such as, meals on wheels, bus services, etc. Wayne Feiden Discussed the Recreation Criteria Section The CPC would like to have a list of relevant plans added to each section Wayne Feiden discussed the Historic Preservation Criteria Section The CPC would like to see the word “eligible” inserted into the pharse “project is within a local, State or National Historic Register.” Jack Hornor stated that he would like to use bullets instead of numbers on the Project Evaluation Criteria Jack Hornor suggested a more user-friendly style for the Project Evaluation Criteria would be to insert a brief explanatory paragraph at the beginning of each category similar to the Town of Plymouth project evaluation criteria. Jack Hornor suggested condensing similar criteria to make the Project Evaluation Criteria more user-friendly. Fran Volkman, citizen of Northampton, stated that in the proposed Project Evaluation Criteria it states that “preference will be given for projects that address as many of the following as possible.” She would prefer it to read, “the project will be evaluated according to the following criteria.” Fran Volkman stated that she would like to see an CPC/public workshop to improve on the project criteria evaluation. The CPC decided to have a working session at the beginning of the meeting on July 18, 2007. The CPC decided that they should write an op-ed piece and publish the time and date of the meeting on the City website. Lilly Lombard, citizen of Northampton, would like to see ecological impact/carbon footprint placed into the Project Evaluation Criteria Chris Kennedy introduced the idea of setting aside 10% of the CPA funds into a rainy day fund. Don Bianchi would like to start taking applications for projects in September. The CPC would like to review a brief Needs Assessment at the next meeting. The Needs Assessment should be ready to be voted on at the meeting on August 15, 2007. Jack Hornor stated that if the CPC is interested in joining the membership based Community Preservation Coalition the membership fee is due for 2007. Jack Hornor stated that the membership fee for 2007 is $2500.00 for Northampton, and it is not prorated-the CPC did not meet until March 2007. Don Bianchi moved to allocate, in July, $2500.00 to pay the membership fee for the Community Preservation Coalition. Chris seconded the motion. Jon Andrulis did not feel comfortable using public funds for a political advocacy group. Jack Hornor stated that he considers the Community Preservation Coalition a vital source of information for the Northampton CPC. Final vote In Favor-Jack Hornor, Don Bianchi, Chris Kennedy, Mason Maronn Opposed-Jon Andrulis Chris Kennedy introduced the topic of the CPA and supplanting. Chris used the withdrawal of a funding request from the Capital Improvements Committee for Forbes Library as an example of potential supplanting. The CPC decided that the withdrawal was more of a political decision than supplanting. The CPC members decided that they would like to create a list of civic organizations to contact for public meetings. 9:25 PM Meeting adjourned.