TOWN OF PROVINCETOWN
COMMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMITTEE
TUESDAY, MARCH 14, 2006
Vice Chairman Mona Anderson
convened the meeting at 9:12 a.m. noting the following attendees:
Members present: Mona Anderson, Vice Chairman; Howard Burchman, Bill Dougal; Tim Hazel; Stephen Milkewicz
Absent CPC Member: Elaine Anderson, Chairman; Eric Dray; Nancy Jacobsen; (excused absences)
Other
Attendee: Keith Bergman, Town
Manager
Recorder: Cynthia Curran
The following are meeting minutes, in
brief:
PUBLIC STATEMENTS
There were none.
DISCUSSION: PROJECT UPDATE ON
APPLICATION 200601
Howard Burchman said that he thought
that it was reasonable to set a timeline for the applicants to adhere to. He said that if the applicant fails to
commence a project by a certain time, then the funds could be recaptured to use
for other projects. He said HUD gives
three years. Bill Dougal said that the
Town Meeting vote would have to include these stipulations. Mr. Burchman said that the Town Counsel
could advise on the wording. Tim Hazel
agreed with the deadline idea, but thought that regular reports should also be
required to keep the Committee up to date on what is happening. Mr. Burchman
said that they could extend the deadline if they thought the project was viable
and in the public interest. Bill
Dougal questioned whether the CPC funds were the sole down payment for the
project. He wondered whether the CPC
funds were at risk if the project got in trouble. He said that their money would be the first in and the first
lost. Howard Burchman said that the CPC
funds were the down payment for the Cumberland Farms land. Bill Dougal wondered about the funds for the
development of the project. Howard
Burchman said that if the CPC funds were, for example, one tenth of the total
budget, then each time there was a “draw down”, only one tenth of the money
should come from the CPC funds. Tim
Hazel said that he would appreciate learning about how the financial
arrangements are handled. Keith Bergman
said that it is set up in the Purchase and Sales agreement. With the Manor project, at the closing the
number of affordable housing units completed will determine the funds paid
out. Howard Burchman asked if the money
is paid in advance for construction.
Mr. Bergman said he would have to check into it, but he said with
grants, the applicant submits a voucher and is reimbursed.
Bill Dougal said that he understands
that due to funding sources, the income mix for this project may vary from
their ideal mix. He said that he would
like more discussion on long-term strategic planning to meet their goal. Mona Anderson said that the Massachusetts
Housing Partnership (MHP) would give them an idea of the housing mix.
Keith Bergman said that they had a
meeting with Cumberland Farms in Canton.
They will be going to the DEP and filing a statement. It is Cumberland Farms responsibility to
clean up the land. Their remediation
expert said that he thought that it would cost only $70,000 to $100,000 to
clean up the site. The Town’s engineer
had based his figures on a more elaborate capping because that it what had to
be done on another site for the Town.
Mr. Bergman said that they might want to take advantage of the
topography of the site so that the building would not seem too tall. This might involve more than a three-foot
capping. Mr. Bergman said that Susan
Connelly would supply a conceptual design plan for the project. This would be submitted to Cumberland Farms
so that they could see if their capping plan would be suitable for the
project. He said that Susan Connelly is
looking into the income mix for the site and is preparing a matrix showing
different mixes and different strategies.
He said that middle-income housing is important to the town. He said that commercial rentals could
perhaps help fund the site. They will
have to see how much of their own money the Town will have to spend to get a
certain mix of incomes. Cumberland
Farms has extended the initial offer to the end of March. They have agreed to then give another
ninety-day extension through June. They
will probably not get a ruling from the DEP concerning the capping before Town
Meeting. He said that it is the Town’s
desire to have Cumberland Farms be responsible for the capping. Mr. Bergman said that the foundation of the
building can be part of the capping and that the plan may have underground
parking. Mona Anderson asked if they
knew how deep the contamination goes.
Mr. Bergman said he would have to look at the reports. He said that he
will get copies of the report for the Committee.
Mr. Bergman said that in their
discussions with Cumberland Farms they learned that Cumberland Farms is not
looking for any particular mix of incomes for the affordable housing. This means that there will be a minimum of
deed restrictions.
Mona Anderson said that some people have
asked her if there will be apartments for single-family households. Mr. Bergman said that they are planning on
having one, two and three bedroom apartments.
Susan Connelly is working on the possible mix of numbers of
bedrooms. Ms. Anderson asked if they
had thought about an on-site playground.
Mr. Bergman didn’t think they had, but said that it could be considered. Steve Milkewicz said that it was near other
Town owned land that could perhaps be made into a playground. Mr. Bergman said that the site would be a
short walk to the elementary school so they will need to have crosswalks and
signals and other changes to make it safe for the children.
Keith Bergman said that the MHP will
take them through the process and eventually the Town will issue an RFP for a
developer for the site. The PHA’s focus
is low-income housing so they are agreeable to having the Town (BOS) issue the
RFP with their input. Howard Burchman
asked if that meant that a for-profit entity may develop the site. Mr. Bergman said that it might happen if
that were the best way to achieve their goals.
Bill Dougal asked if the building design and scale would be part of the
RFP. Mr. Bergman said that he wasn’t
sure. He said it could depend on the
capping also. Mr. Dougal was concerned
about 40B. Mr. Bergman said that Susan
Connelly of the MHP would help with the limits of the RFP. Mona Anderson asked whether some of the
units would be sold if the site were run by a for-profit entity. Mr. Bergman said that they would all be
rentals.
Bill Dougal asked about the sewer
connection. Mr. Bergman said that it is
in the works. A conduit will be put
under the highway while other work is being done there, so they don’t have to
dig twice. Most of the work will wait
until the project is farther along.
[Keith Bergman left at 9:47 a.m.]
Mona Anderson wondered if the CPC could
see the purchase and sale agreement.
She said it was important to see what the DEP says about the cleanup. Bill Dougal said that it is a rapidly
changing process. He said that they
must try to make sure that they are comfortable with what happens. He said that if there are commercial units,
the Committee must make sure that they are rented at a price that won’t upset
local retailers. Tim Hazel said that
they could only have so much control.
He said that the RFP will establish the criteria. Bill Dougal said that there are certain
standards that the community wants. The
more the applicants know about the criteria, the easier it will be for
them. Mona Anderson said that they
cannot control every detail and must be willing to compromise. She thought that they should first focus on
the environmental issues. She did not
want them to get involved in too many things at once and become
overwhelmed. She said their homework
would be to read the engineers’ report on the contamination.
Mona Anderson also said that the
Committee should be “cc’d” on every document and on the minutes of every
meeting concerning this project. Tim
Hazel said that they need financial timeliness and quarterly reports to get the
information they need. He said that
they shouldn’t have to go looking for the information and need to set up a
system where they will get regular reports.
Mona Anderson said that most meetings generate minutes, so they should
be able to get them. She would also
like to see copies of memos between Keith Bergman and the BOS about this
project. Bill Dougal said that they
should be able to get copies of everything that is a public record. Steve Milkewicz said that they should get
“cc’d” and also get quarterly reports.
Mona Anderson said that they may need to have monthly reports. Bill Dougal said that more information is
better and that he wants this project to succeed. Tim Hazel said that perhaps the chair or a designee could attend
some of the other meetings. Howard
Burchman said that it was important to stick to their mission.
Mona Anderson that they would like to
ask the Town Manager for an overview of the Shankpainter Laundromat/Affordable
Housing project. Even though it was not
considered at the time because the deadline for applicants had passed, they
would still like to know more about the project. She said that they would ask the chair to request more
information from the Town Manager.
MOTION: Move to request that the CPC receive any written
communication regarding the Shankpainter/Cumberland Farms project (Application
200601).
Motion by: Bill Dougal Seconded by:
Howard Burchman Yea 5
Nay 0
Steve
Milkewicz said that regarding the playground, there were other possible places
to play in the area, including the skateboard park. Mona Anderson said that they needed open space around the
apartment building as well as a playground for little children. Bill Dougal said that they will need
stoplights and sidewalks installed in the area. Other members agreed.
Mona Anderson said that safety is a big consideration. Bill Dougal said that sidewalks could be
part of the RFP. The Town would put in
the stoplights. Steve Milkewicz said
that they should plan for these safety measures. They should not be an afterthought.
Mona
Anderson said that the next meeting will be on March 28th.
REVIEW
OF MINUTES
The
review of the minutes was tabled, because there was no quorum of members who
were present at the last meeting.
MOTION: Move to adjourn the meeting at 10:28 a.m..
Motion by: Howard Burchman Seconded by: Tim
Hazel Yea 5 Nay 0