TOWN OF PROVINCETOWN
COMMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMITTEE
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2006
Chairman Elaine Anderson convened
the meeting at 9:20 a.m. noting the following attendees:
Members present: Elaine Anderson, Chairman; Mona Anderson, Vice Chairman; Howard Burchman, Bill Dougal; Stephen Milkewicz
Absent CPC Member: Eric Dray; Tim Hazel; Nancy Jacobsen; (excused absences)
Other
Attendees: Keith Bergman, Town
Manager; David Nicolau, Board of Selectmen; Patrick Manning, Executive Director,
PHA; Margaret Carroll-Bergman, PHA; Susan Connelly, Massachusetts Housing
Partnership; Ellen Burbank, Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum; Christine
Austin, Executive Director, Interfaith Council for the Homeless; David Guertin,
Director, DPW; Dana Ferris; Ginny Bender
Recorder: Cynthia Curran
The following are meeting minutes, in
brief:
The meeting was divided into three
parts. First, there was the regular
meeting of the CPC, which was temporarily adjourned for the Public Hearing on
the three warrant articles. Then the
regular meeting was reconvened.
PUBLIC STATEMENTS
There were none.
DISCUSSION: INTERIM HOUSING
ASSISTANCE
Elaine Anderson said that Tim Hazel and
Steve Milkewicz had looked into who might administer a program to give emergency
housing assistance. They suggested the
Interfaith Council for the Homeless on Lower Cape Cod. Elaine Anderson spoke with several people
there, including the executive director, Christine Austin. Elaine Anderson developed six points for
potential guidelines for the program.
1.
The money should be
used in Provincetown to preserve year-round housing.
2.
The money could be
given for a broader range of needs, such as utilities, car payments, etc.
3.
Quarterly reports
should be sent to the CPC
4.
There would be no long-term
commitment to continue the program beyond the two years.
5.
The money could be
used for case management or direct assistance.
6.
There could possibly
be a one year extension beyond the two year/ $20,000. initial proposal.
The Interfaith Council said that the
funds would be a great help to their work in Provincetown and that Christine
Austin would attend the public hearing today.
Howard Burchman said he had a problem
with the basic premise of creating a stopgap measure until we have affordable
housing. He said that we will never
have enough affordable housing. He said that emergency assistance helps in a
crisis, but doesn’t resolve the problem.
Elaine Anderson said that the Interfaith Council does careful screening
and works to prevent homelessness. Mr.
Burchman said that he thought that assistance like this creates cycles of
dependency. Elaine Anderson said that
many of their clients were working people.
Mr. Burchman said that the CPC’s real mission is to develop long term
solutions and that should be their focus.
Mona Anderson asked if these were one-time dispersements or if the
clients came back every month for more money.
Bill Dougal said he was not in favor of the proposal. He felt that their mission was to develop
the maximum number of housing units.
He said the proposed housing assistance was a good idea, but would not
solve the housing problem. Mr. Dougal
said that there were many hardship stories, but that the CPC should focus on
long term solutions. Steve Milkewicz
said that he was on the fence. Elaine
Anderson said that the Committee had to vote on the article today, because the
deadline for submission is Friday. She
asked if it should be a warrant article or not.
Steve Milkewicz said that it really was
just a band-aid on a big wound. Howard
Burchman said that it would establish a precedent and it would be very hard to
back away from continuing to do it.
Bill Dougal agreed that after two years the CPC would be put in the
position of having to say no which is very hard in a small community.
Elaine Anderson asked if the members
thought that the voters at the Town Meeting would support the article or if it
would be a hot potato issue. Bill
Dougal said that the hot button issues would be the additional money for the
Cape End Manor, and Proposition 2 ˝ and the Schools. Elaine Anderson said that the Committee could reverse their
decision and not put it on the warrant.
Mona Anderson said that their purpose was to fund affordable housing,
not to give emergency assistance, but she thought it was a way to gain
community support for the CPC. She said
that it was not really a lot of money and that the voters at Town Meeting would
support the article. The Committee
decided that they would speak with Christine Austin before making their decision.
Elaine Anderson said that they would
adjourn the regular meeting temporarily for the Public Hearing. She said that
there was a last minute proposal concerning the proposed laundromat and
affordable housing units. She was not
in favor of allowing the discussion because the application guidelines had not
been followed. Other members agreed
that it would be a liability to the CPC to allow it, because others would then
want the right to apply after the deadline.
MOTION: Move to adjourn the meeting temporarily in order to hold
the Public Hearing.
Motion by: Howard Burchman Seconded by: Mona
Anderson Yea 5 Nay 0
The Public Hearing was opened by
Chairman Elaine Anderson at 10:02 a.m..
She asked the members of the Committee to introduce themselves to the
other attendees.
The first item on the agenda was
Application 200601 from the Board of Selectmen and the Provincetown Housing
Authority. Elaine Anderson said that
the CPC had approved one million dollars for the acquisition of 90 Shankpainter
Road as a warrant article for Town Meeting.
Bill Dougal asked if there were any updates on the purchase.
Keith Bergman said that the Town has
scheduled a meeting with Cumberland Farms for next week. They will discuss whether the site will be
capped or the contamination will be removed.
Capping would cost $300,000.00 and the removal would cost one million
dollars. The cleanup of the site is
Cumberland Farm’s responsibility. Mr.
Bergman said that Susan Connelly of the MHP was present to answer
questions. He said he had no new
definitive information. Mr. Bergman
said that Cumberland Farms is happy with the CPC’s approval of the warrant
article and is going forward with the negotiations. Mr. Bergman said that in order to obtain low-income housing tax
credits, at least 25 of the units must be low income. Depending on what other funding sources can be found, the mix of
incomes will vary. He feels that they
are going forward.
Bill Dougal asked if the BOS would
support including a provision in the warrant article that conveyance of the
site would be upon recommendation of the Community Preservation Committee. Mr. Bergman said that he didn’t know what
their opinion would be. Mr. Dougal
thought that it was important for the BOS to have their recommendation prior to
conveying the land. Mr. Bergman said
that they would need to discuss it with the BOS, but that there was not time
before the Friday deadline to submit warrant articles. He said that the CPC will be submitting the
article, not the BOS. Mr. Dougal said
that the CPC has provided funds in the past and then the plans have been
changed. He would like to know that
they are still following the plan before the land is conveyed. Mr. Bergman said that since additional funds
to develop the property will be needed from the CPC, not to include them in the
process would be foolish. Mr. Bergman
suggested that the best way would be for the CPC to take a vote and then talk
to the Town Counsel about the wording.
He also said that the D, E.P. will make the ruling on capping the site
or removal of the contamination. Mr.
Bergman said that this ruling and other parts of the process will not happen by
Town Meeting. It will take months to get
and review the proposals for the development of the site.
David Nicolau said that, speaking for
himself, he wanted a team effort and was interested in input from the CPC.
Elaine Anderson said that the warrant
article would be a request of the CPC.
She thought that it should come from the CPC, the BOS and the PHA. Mr. Bergman said that he could check with
the BOS. Mr. Manning said that he would
be agreeable.
Howard Burchman said that in the minutes
of the previous CPC meeting, it said that the MHP requested that they work with
one client. He questioned having “one
client”, given the joint involvement of the CPC, BOS and PHA. Susan Connelly explained that it meant that
they want a single point of contact and that person would inform the
others. Keith Bergman said that the low
income tax credit will be a significant funding source and may change the
housing mix. Howard Burchman said that
the low income tax credit can help bring in other funding. Bill Dougal said that the financing plan has
to be connected to the land acquisition.
He said there needed to be a checkpoint and he was not comfortable in
conveying the land without the final recommendation of the CPC. David Nicolau said that the MHP will help
with the funding sources.
Bill Dougal asked about the funding
sources for the three warrant articles.
Keith Bergman said that the one million for the first article will be
borrowed, but the debt service will not show up until FY2008. He said the money for the other two articles
will be appropriated out of fund balances.
Elaine Anderson said that the complete proposals were at the Town
Clerk’s office and were available to the public. This ended the discussion of Application 200601.
The next warrant article concerned
Application 200604 from the Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum. [Bill Dougal recused himself because he is
on the board of directors of the PM&PM.]
Elaine Anderson said the money will come out of Historic Funding. She said that with the centennial coming up,
more people should be visiting the Monument, and it is important that the work
be done. Ellen Burbank said that the
lightning rod is 99 years old and is now out of code. They must add a rod to the other side of the building which will
be covered in copper. Howard Burchman
asked what would happen if other funding sources are not found. Ms. Burbank said they have identified some
other possible sources of funding. If
they don’t get additional funding, they will have to use some of their reserve
funds. Mr. Burchman asked if the scope
would remain in tact. Ms. Burbank said
that it would, but that they would have to prioritize what they did. Elaine Anderson said that they would have
the $58,000 unless the Town Meeting says no.
Ellen Burbank said that they had to go ahead and fix the stairs, because
it needed to be done before they reopen to the public. It ended up costing $2800. Elaine Anderson thanked Ms. Burbank for
coming and this ended the discussion of Application 200604.
[Bill Dougal returned to the meeting.]
The Committee continued with the
discussion of the third proposed warrant article (creating emergency funding
for housing assistance in the amount of $20,000 for FY2007-FY2008). The Interfaith Council for the Homeless on
Lower Cape Cod had been approached about possibly administering the funds and
Christine Austin, the Executive Director, was there to answer questions. Ms. Austin said that they work with
community groups in the area. They help
people with money for rent, utilities, mortgages, and car payments if
necessary. Their main purpose is to
prevent people from becoming homeless, but they do work with the homeless
also. They work with their clients to
try and prevent recidivism. She said
that they best serve the community by using their case management skills. They are privately funded. Their case manager comes to Provincetown
once a week. She works on related
issues also, such as food stamps and health issues. Elaine Anderson explained that they wanted the funds to be used
exclusively in Provincetown. Ms. Austin
saw no problem with this and said that they have the latitude to set
boundaries, such as how much would be spent per case. Bill Dougal asked what happens when there is an eviction or
foreclosure. Ms. Austin said often
people panic. They help them to look at
their options. Sometimes a temporary
solution can turn into a long-term rental.
Bill Dougal said that the CPC’s mission is to get affordable housing for
working people. He asked what
percentage of their clients was working.
Ms. Austin said that 53% are working and only 2% are on welfare. She said that there has been a rise in the
number of senior citizens seeking their services.
Ms. Austin said that they participate
with the County process, but don’t seek government funds because they do not
want to be locked into specific areas of need.
This way they can help anyone.
Howard Burchman asked how many of their clients were repeat
clients. Ms. Austin said that at least
40% don’t come back.
Elaine Anderson thanked Ms. Austin for
coming and ended this part of the discussion.
NEW BUSINESS
David Guertin, director of the DPW, Dana
Ferris, and Ginny Bender were present with a new application regarding
affordable housing and a proposed laundromat.
Mr. Guertin started to explain the sewer hook-up situation concerning this
project. Howard Burchman asked if the
CPC should even be discussing the proposal at this time, since the application
deadline has passed. He said that the
CPC opens itself to liability if it considers an application outside of the
existing process. Mr. Guertin said that
he had talked to the Town Manager and it was a late breaking development.
Elaine Anderson said that the discussion
had not been posted on the agenda for the Public Hearing. She also said that they are not in the
business of water gallonage. Elaine Anderson
said that in fairness to all, the process must be adhered to. She said that they will probably have
another cycle of proposals, but that the discussion was not appropriate for
today.
David Guertin said that he had no
problem with that decision and that the clarity of direction was
refreshing. He said that affordable
housing was part of the proposed project, so they may be back for the next
cycle of applications. Elaine Anderson
said that copies of the last RFP are available to give him an idea of what
would be needed to apply. Bill Dougal
added that the new RFP may be different.
Elaine Anderson then asked for a motion
to end the Public Hearing and reopen the regular meeting.
MOTION: Move to close the Public Hearing and reopen the regular CPC
meeting.
Motion by: Howard Burchman Seconded by:
Steve Milkewicz Yea 5
Nay 0
Elaine
Anderson said that the first item for discussion was the third warrant article
concerning $20,000 for emergency housing assistance. Steve Milkewicz said he would keep it on the warrant as a
possible way to keep working people in Provincetown. The funds would have to go to Provincetown residents only. Elaine Anderson said that the money would
not be strictly for housing, but would be emergency funds to prevent
homelessness (such as paying for a car repair so that a resident could keep
working). She said that the Interfaith
Council would not take administrative fees out of the $20,000. She asked if the members wanted to put it on
the warrant or not. Mr. Milkewicz said
that perhaps they were not ready and that more discussion was needed. Bill Dougal said that this was a disconnect
from their mission, although he did admire her work. Mona Anderson also thought that it was moving away from their
mission, but thought maybe they could give them some money. She said it was an emotional issue, but was
concerned that it was setting a precedent.
Elaine Anderson said that perhaps they should remove it from the warrant
article and talk about it at a later time.
She said that part of their initial impetus was to help the
community. Steve Milkewicz said that no
matter what they do, Provincetown has changed and will be different. Mona Anderson said that it was compelling to
her. She thought that it would pass at
Town Meeting because it was an emotional issue. Steve Milkewicz said that the money was better spent on bricks
and mortar.
MOTION: Move to remove the third warrant article: the CPC motion to
recommend $20,000 for emergency housing assistance to be administered by a
successful applicant.
Motion by: Steve Milkewicz Seconded by: Bill
Dougal Yea 4 Nay 1 (MA)
Elaine
Anderson said that they were not ready to decide this at this time, but that
they could bring it back later if they wanted to.
They
then discussed the first warrant article concerning the acquisition of 90
Shankpainter Road. Bill Dougal wanted
to insert the phrase “upon the recommendation of the CPC” after “and that the
Board of Selectmen is authorized to convey said parcel” and before “on such
terms and conditions and for such considerations,” He also thought that the
article should come just from the CPC, with the support of the BOS and PHA, but
not jointly with them. The other
members agreed.
MOTION: Move to approve the first warrant article (Application
200601) with the insertion of “upon the recommendation of the CPC.”
Motion by: Howard Burchman Seconded by: Bill
Dougal Yea 5 Nay 0
[Bill
Dougal then recused himself.]
MOTION: Move to approve the second warrant article (Application
200604).
Motion by: Mona Anderson Seconded by: Steve
Milkewicz Yea 4 Nay 0 Abstain 1 (BD)
[Bill
Dougal returned to the meeting.]
REVIEW
OF MINUTES
Elaine
Anderson had a few minor clarifications.
MOTION: Move to approve the minutes of the CPC meeting on 1/31/06
with minor changes.
Motion by: Mona Anderson Seconded by: Bill
Dougal Yea 4 Nay 0 Abstain 1
(HB)
BROCHURE
Elaine Anderson said that they would
postpone the brochure discussion until the next meeting.
OTHER BUSINESS
The next meetings will be March 14th
and March 28th. Bill Dougal
said that March 28th will be the last meeting before the Town
Meeting. He was concerned that things
would be too rushed at that meeting. He
wanted to have as much information as possible before the Town Meeting so that
they would be well prepared. He is
especially concerned about the income mix for the project. Elaine Anderson said she would invite the
BOS and the PHA to both meetings.
MOTION: Move to adjourn the meeting at 12:00 noon.
Motion by: Howard Burchman Seconded by: Mona
Anderson Yea 5 Nay 0