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Agenda and Minutes 2009-06-17 City of Northampton Community Preservation Committee 210 Main Street, City Hall Northampton, MA 01060 Community Preservation Committee Agenda DATE: Wednesday, June 17, 2009 TIME: 7:00 PM PLACE: City Council Chambers, 212 Main Street (BEHIND City Hall) Contact: Fran Volkmann, Chair, Community Preservation Committee Franv@comcast.net Tom Parent, Vice Chair, Community Preservation Committee ParentBridge@hotmail.com Bruce Young, Community Preservation Planner byoung@northamptonma.gov (413) 587-1263 Agenda Public Comment ? Acceptance of 5/6/2009 and 5/20/2009 Minutes ? Chair's Report ? Discussion of new Community Preservation Committee Website ? Discussion of an Act to Sustain Community Preservation in the Commonwealth ? of Massachusetts Other Business ? For additional information please refer to the Community Preservation Committee website: http://www.northamptonma.gov/gsuniverse/httpRoot/comm/ 1 MINUTES Community Preservation Committee Date: Wednesday, June 17, 2009 Time: 7:00 pm Place: City Council Chambers, 212 Main St. Members Present: Fran Volkmann, Tom Parent, David Drake, George Kohout, Downey Meyer, Don Bianchi, and Jack Hornor. Staff Present: Bruce Young, Community Preservation Planner John Frey, Community Preservation Planner Fran Volkmann opened the public meeting at 7:03pm. 1. PUBLIC COMMENT ?? None 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES ?? Fran Volkmann presented the May 6, 2009 minutes for discussion. After noting a couple minor technical changes the minutes were approved as read. ?? Fran Volkmann presented the May 20, 2009 minutes for discussion. With no changes the minutes were approved as read. 3. CHAIR’S REPORT OPEN SPACE ACQUISITIONS ?? Fran Volkmann announced Wayne Feiden would be presenting a report about open space acquisitions at the City Council meeting on June 18, 2009. All are welcome to attend and comment. UPPER RESERVOIR DAM PROJECT ?? Fran Volkmann explained the Upper Reservoir Dam in Leeds is in poor repair. She stated a group is perhaps interested in saving it as an historic site and she wondered if CPA funds could be used for such repairs. At the same time the State is interested in actually removing the dam. There is likely to be two competing sides to this issue. ?? Bruce Young stated the City wants to remove for safety reasons. The costs to take down the dam is ~$600,000, while repairing is ~$800,000 plus future management and dredging costs. The State would likely classify it as dangerous. 2 FCBA PROJECT APPLICATION ?? Jack Hornor stated he sent a letter requesting FCBA to sign the contract if they are going to accept the CPC funding recommendation. He met with Bill St. James, who is the attorney for FCBA. There is a question regarding the recording fee for the contract. Jack Hornor recommends paying out of administration funds. ?? Tom Parent agreed, the CPC should cover the fee to just get this project completed. He stated many FCBA members feel some members may not want funding because they want to fight the CPA in the coming years. ?? George Kohout cautioned the CPC to just be aware in future about paying miscellaneous fees. There is no policy now. ?? Bruce Young stated usually fees are part of the project budget. ?? Jack Hornor stated the original grant agreement specifies the museum building and artifacts. He agreed with Bruce Young that changing language to just preservation of historic collection is best. Also, he combined all documents into one. The next step is for FCBA to have a board meeting to discuss. He is quite certain they will accept it. ?? George Kohout questioned if the drop-dead date is June 30, 2009. ?? Jack Hornor stated that is correct, otherwise funds are released back into General Fund. 4. DISCUSSION OF NEW COMMUNITY PRESERVATION WEBSITE NEW SITE ?? Bruce Young noted it is difficult to use the current site and there are size limit issues. ?? Fran Volkmann stated she would like a site similar to the new City Arts Council site. ?? George Kohout stated we must think about regular maintenance requirements and costs. ?? Fran Volkmann stated she wants the CPC to own its own site. The site should be linked to the city site but separate. ?? Jack Hornor queried what to call it. All agree with NorthamptonCPC.org, but also obtain .com and .net. ?? Fran Volkmann stated she likes listing projects by category, with a separate page for each project including pictures. ?? Jack Hornor stated his support of a page explaining the lifecycle of a project. We need to re-enforce how long it takes to complete the funding process. ?? Don Bianchi suggested including the Community Preservation Act info and committee activities. ?? Jack Hornor concerned about placing detailed budget information on the website. Presenting that information on the site could simply create too many problems. All that information can be obtained from staff. ?? Downey Meyer stated however his support for a budget summary and statement indicating full budget available on request. PHOTOS ?? George Kohout stated the Tisbury has a list of projects with clickable photos. At least one image for each project. He encouraged the CPC to do the same. 3 ?? Downey Meyer stated we should also solicit comments from the grant recipients. ?? Bruce Young suggested including links to their homepages. ?? David Drake suggested including written descriptions of completed projects. ?? Jack Hornor suggested including before and after pictures. ?? John Frey suggested a clickable “push-pin” map showing the projects spread across the city. ?? Jack Hornor suggested including that map on the homepage. ?? Don Bianchi suggested actively soliciting quotes. It would be good for organizing a positive campaign for the renewal of the CPA ?? Fran Volkmann suggested adding taxpayer information and an exemption form application. FAQ ?? George Kohout suggested staff generate an evolving FAQ list. LINKS ?? Suggested links include the Community preservation Coalition, the State CPA information, and links to other committee sites. NEWS ?? David Drake suggested including a one-way blog helping disseminate information. ?? Bruce Young stated the need to a dedicated CPC writer. Creating interesting press releases on a regular schedule would be helpful. ?? Jack Hornor advocated against allowing public comments and discussion on the site. Standards can be difficult to enforce. Maybe we could think about it after the site is together. ?? Downey Meyer stated a blog or news server allows people to see fresh content without searching the entire site. ?? George Kohout stated the site would likely need multiple phases to integrate fully. ?? Jack Hornor suggested starting with an email list sign up function. One-way blog in future makes sense. The CPC needs a means of communicating with friends and allies. ?? George Kohout suggested a function similar to the OPD listserv. Perhaps solicit public comment about our website from that listserv. ?? Jack Hornor stated we could also use the OPD listserv to solicit the public to sign up for our site. ?? Bruce Young stated the Health Department has Facebook page. Perhaps we could do the same. RFP ?? Fran Volkmann suggested assembling a working group to work with staff on a Request for Proposals. Jack Hornor, George Kohout, Fran Volkmann and Lilly Lombard agreed to help out. ?? Jack Hornor suggested making sure value trumps the cost. That is most important. ?? Fran Volkmann suggested this would be a good summer project. The goal is to finish the th RFP before we receive applications in August. She set a meeting date for June 29, 4pm. 4 5. DISCUSSION OF AN ACT TO SUSTAIN COMMUNITY PRESERVATION IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS ?? Bruce Young stated the Coalition is working on legislation to bring more State funding to the CPA. There are about a dozen alternate plans floating throughout the legislature. The Coalition is summarizing the best features. The goal is a trust fund match guarantee of 75%. Also, they are seeking to clarify the uses, especially for recreation, of money for land not purchased by CPA. The Coalition would like the CPC to sign a letter of support. ?? Downey Meyer stated it important to know where the 75% revenue source is from before signing on. ?? Don Bianchi stated the main concern is state dollars vs. local dollars. It is more important for the CPC to raise the level of state money support regardless of the source. ?? David Drake stated he doesn’t understand how this legislation is functional without a funding source. ?? Fran Volkmann stated she would like to weigh in on the positive side of supporting this proposal. Money still gets apportioned at the state level and we want as much for Northampton citizens as possible. The CPC should advocate for more state support. She is ready to sign on. ?? David Drake stated he sees no harm in supporting as well, even though it may not pass without a funding source. ?? Don Bianchi stated we must be able to support this legislation. It is straightforward to sign on. ?? Downey Meyer stated we must still understand the State legislature may not have our interests in mind. Vagueness of other revenue source keeps him from signing on. ?? Jack Hornor stated on one hand we must advocate for most money possible. But on the other hand, more concerning to him is item 2 regarding supplanting the 2% option. ?? Downey Meyer stated he also does not want to sign on if it is likely to fail. ?? Fran Volkmann suggested tabling to next meeting to see where the legislation is going. ?? George Kohout volunteered to talk to state representatives about the legislation. ?? Upon motion by David Drake, seconded by Downey Meyer, all agreed to table until the next meeting. 6. OTHER BUSINESS ?? Jack Hornor requested staff to please email the coming schedule. ?? Bruce Young stated applications are due August 10, 2009. ?? Jack Hornor stated there is likely to be a proposal to fund a fountain study grant at Hospital Hill. ?? Fran Volkmann stated she sent a memo to the Northampton Housing Authority regarding their vacant CPC seat. No response has been received. ?? Jack Hornor stated he would talk to Jon Hite. He suggested it is possible to change the charter locally to allow representation from the Housing Partnership instead. 5 ?? Bruce Young stated the charter change must happen at the state level. It is a six-month process. ?? Fran Volkmann suggested we investigate our options. Upon motion by David Drake, seconded by George Kohout, all agreed to adjourn the meeting at 8:53pm. Respectfully submitted on July 1, 2009, John Frey, Community Preservation Planner 6