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MINUTES OF THE BAY PROPERTY PLANNING COMMITTEE
DATE: April 19, 2022
TIME: 4:00 PM
PLACE: Remote Participation
REMOTE PARTICIPANTS: Selectperson Mary Chaffee, Selectperson Ned Chatelain, Amanda Bebrin, Pat
Hughes, Karl Fryzel, Peter Johnson, Clare O'Connor -Rice, John Phillips, Allyson Felix, Bill Meehan, Gary
Christen, Janet Stolzer, Maggie Spade -Aguilar, Richard Perry, Catie Fyfe, Kathleen Walker, Katie Miller
Jacobus
Absent: Caroline McCarley, Thomas Wingard
Call to Order, Declaration of a Quorum, Meeting Participation Statement and Recording Statement:
Peter Lombardi called the meeting to order at 4:11pm and read the meeting participation and recording
statements. Mr. Lombardi announced all members of the Committee who were present, a quorum was
declared.
Introduction of Members, Liaisons, and Representatives:
Each member introduced themselves and gave a brief background of their experience; the makeup of the
Committee includes:
• Select Board Representatives —Mary Chaffee, Ned Chatelain
• Vision Planning Representative —Amanda Bebrin
• Natural Resources Representative —Pat Hughes
• At -Large Members -Karl Fryzel, Peter Johnson, Katie Miller -Jacobus, Clare O'Connor -Rice, John
Phillips
• Committee Alternate —Allyson Felix
• Finance Committee Liaison —Bill Meehan
• Open Space Committee Liaison —Gary Christen
• Council on Aging Liaison -Janet Stolzer
• Affordable Housing Trust Liaison —Maggie Spade -Aguilar
• Cultural Council Liaison —Richard Perry
• Mass Audubon Representative — Catie Fyfe
• Cape Cod YMCA Representative —Kathleen Walker
Brief Overview of Sea Camps Property Acquisition and Relevant Town Strategic Plans
Selectperson Chaffee reviewed the PowerPoint presentation regarding the acquisition history of the Sea
Camps property. Selectperson Chaffee started with the history of the parcels, which were originally part of
the Wampanoag Nation — by the time Brewster was incorporated in 1803, this was part of the Satucket
Lands. The land as we know it is made up of two parcels acquired by the Delahanty family. Selectperson
Chaffee reviewed a timeline of Select Board and Town Administrations actions in acquiring the properties,
including executive session meetings and public engagement activities. At the September 25, 2021, Special
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Town Meeting over 1,000 Brewster residents voted nearly unanimously to purchase the two Sea Camps
property. On November 29, 2021, the Town purchased the properties.
Review Committee Charge and Role Liaisons, Representatives and Town Staff
Peter Lombardi presented this agenda item. Mr. Lombardi reviewed the Bay Property Planning Committee
charge; the full charge is available in the packet.
a. Identify existing conditions of the former Cape Cod Sea Camps Pond property
b. Evaluate potential low-cost, short-term public access opportunities
c. Develop and propose interim public access plan
d. Develop and implement a public engagement strategy to ensure broad community input
e. Determine priority long-term uses appropriate for the Bay property, taking the adjacent
Spruce Hill property into consideration
f. Identify and evaluate potential partner organization with shared interests and values,
particularly MA Audubon and YMCA Cape Cod
g. Propose recommended long-term uses and partnerships
h. If recommended long-term uses include construction of a community center and/or Town
offices, evaluate alternative uses of Council on Aging site, Town Hall, and Eddy School as
appropriate
Develop an implementation plan for the proposed uses
Pat Hughes asked if there is a sense of time for the interim public access plan. Mr. Lombardi responded that
this process will take some time, though the Select Board had identified short-term access as a priority. Mr.
Lombardi added that he hopes the committee will develop a short-term access plan by Fall 2022.
Karl Fryzel asked if the recent work done to construct 50 parking spaces, adding access roads, knocking down
buildings and eliminating tennis courts, should be considered temporary or permanent. Mr. Lombardi
responded that this would be best discussed when the committee discusses property maintenance as part of
the short-term access plan, adding that the permitting process for the parking lot was not yet complete and
that the outcome was uncertain.
Mr. Lombardi presented a short summary of the participant roles on the committee —the planning
committee members, alternate committee members, liaisons, community organization representatives,
Town of Brewster staff. Mr. Lombardi asked if anyone had any questions about the roles — no questions were
asked.
Review Plans for Technical Assistance and Anticipated Project Timeline
Mr. Lombardi stated that the Town is currently working with Reed Hildebrand, they are charged with
creating a scope of work in order to go through the process of hiring a consultant to assist the committee.
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The Town will plan to issue this in the next several weeks, before the next committee meeting in May — it will
be issued to select firms, and will be seeking bid proposals from these firms to assist in the planning process.
Mr. Lombardi added that the Pond property planning process would likely take less time than the Bay
property given current uses of both properties, as well as the partnerships in place for the Pond property.
The Town expects that Reed Hildebrand will be one of the firms under consideration for assisting the
committee with the planning process. The pre -work currently being carried out is to help the Town be clear
about the expectations for the consultants. The process for the Pond property will likely take 12 months, the
Bay will be closer to 18 months.
Mr. Lombardi noted that in order to fund this, at the last Town Meeting, funding was allocated in the
amount of $185K — $10k has already been paid to Reed Hildebrand, so there is $175K left. The Town plans to
submit a full application for community planning grant funds from the state for the One Stop program, which
will be another $75k. Mr. Lombardi added that the Town is still considered a "small and rural town", and this
can make the application more competitive. The Town is also considering other grant funding opportunities
through the state for this planning work.
Mr. Lombardi stated that Annual Town Meeting is next month, and there is no further appropriation for this
purpose on that warrant — so, if the feedback from firms is that additional funding beyond the $175k is
required, then we will have to go back to Town Meeting in November. Once the first several meetings are
done, we are planning on meeting twice amonth — 30-50 meetings over the course of a year and a half.
Mr. Lombardi asked if anyone had any questions. Maggie Spade -Aguilar asked if the community planning
grants were for both properties. Mr. Lombardi said that both the appropriation and the grant funding were
for both properties, and the consultant chosen will be developing plans for both properties in parallel.
Review Financing &Potential Partnerships
Mr. Lombardi stated that the financing for the Bay property was relatively straightforward. The Pond
property was purchased for $6M, Town Meeting in September appropriated $1.75M in Town funding, and an
additional $250k from Water Department reserve funds, bringing the total borrowing to $4M. BCT has
pledged $1.75M and MA Audubon has pledged $1.5M toward the acquisition of that property, leaving a
balance of $750K. Mr. Lombardi added that the Brewster Water Commission has pledged an additional
$100K over the next three years. For the $6501< balance, we are bringing an article to Town Meeting to
appropriate some existing funds toward our other short-term debt obligations, to create capacity in next
year's fiscal budget. The means we will be able to pay off the entire debt in the next 3 years. Adding that BCT
and MA Audubon's fundraising campaigns are going well, and they are anticipating providing a significant
portion of their pledged amounts when the short-term note comes due this fall. We are in a very good
position in terms of financing the Pond property.
Clare O'Connor Rice asked if there are any stipulations from BCT and MA Audubon. Mr. Lombardi responded
that those pledges were conditioned on a conservation restriction being placed on a majority of the Pond
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property and that MA Audubon would be granted some rights to provide educational programming on the
site.
Mr. Lombardi explained that for the Bay property the cost was $20M financed through a debt exclusion —the
Select Board opted fora 30 -year level debt term, which means that year over year those payments are
consistent. We secured a very good interest rate in the market before we went out to bid this fall. The
decision was made to do a taxable bond, so that options were not limited in terms of partnering with private
organizations. The debt is coming online with tax bills next September, the Year 1 payment has an additional
interest payment from this fiscal year — so it will be about $325k more than our annual payments going
forward. Mr. Lombardi explained that in terms of partnerships, MA Audubon expressed interest in the Bay
property similar to their interest in the Pond property —there is a standing pledge of $1M from MA Audubon
which we are very appreciative of. We will hopefully potentially be able to access these funds and thus
reduce our overall debt obligations. In terms of YMCA Cape Cod, we have had a number of discissions with
their leadership, and there is mutual interest in the early, conceptual stage, hence their attendance today.
Lastly, Mr. Lombardi added that the Town has spoken to a few private individuals who expressed interest in
making significant donations which combined to just under $1M to assist with the acquisition of the Bay
property. Over the coming months we will identify their interest and conditions of use of these funds and
how that aligns with what this committee and the community supports in terms of a long-term plan for the
property. In terms of financing for this property, the focus has been on debt exclusion.
Update on Property Maintenance and Short -Term Public Access Plans
Mr. Lombardi stated that Town Meeting approved $200k for operating expenses for the Sea Camps property
for this fiscal year and we have been drawing down on that since we acquired the properties in November.
Our operating expenses have come in line with what we projected. In the FY23 operating budget, we have
included just over $2001< in the budget to cover those expenses.
Mr. Lombardi added that the Town posted for a full time Property Manager after acquiring the property, and
hired Ed Barber, who had worked as the Property Manager at the Sea Camps for 40 years. He has been a
great resource. DPW and Facilities Department can help to support Ed in his work —regular meetings have
taken place to discuss the management of these properties. For short-term public access plans, the Town
focused on beach access and access to the pool. For the pool, it became apparent that it was just too quick
of a turnaround to get something in place for this summer —there are Cape -wide staffing shortages for
lifeguards at the moment. The Town would have to create a separate revolving account to manage this. Mr.
Lombardi added that the Town decided to focus on beach access, and at this point, we have been granted a
request for determination of applicability through the Conservation Commission to take down 3 structures
that were adjacent to the coastal dune. Those structures were taken down last week. We are also under
contract with Coastal Engineering to develop a site plan and project — we submitted a NOI to the
Conservation Commission and are hopeful to secure that permitting. At the earliest, the Town would be
prepared to do the proposed work (to install parking on the tennis courts) as early as the second week of
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May. We are prepared to do some of the work in house, and contract out some of it — we are looking at just
over 50 spaces. Mr. Lombardi noted that the Town has to comply with bylaws, such as stormwater
management, so there is considerable work that has gone into this process. If permitting is secured, we hope
to have the work complete by July 1. The Town plans on opening the Bay beach for July 1, for the months of
July and August —the plan is for it to be resident -only at least for this summer. It will be open 7 days a week,
Sam to Bpm. We will be counting cars coming in so we can manage parking and concentrate the use of the
property down adjacent to the beach. One of the significant expenses for the Town is additional liability
insurance, 50k this year, probably 60k next —this is part of the reason why we are structuring the short-term
beach access plan the way we are.
Mr. Lombardi stated that the Town is also planning on having at least 4 one -day events for residents to
access the property. There will be 2 movies nights —1 in July, 1 in August. The Brewster Band has also agreed
to do a concert on the lawn in August, and there will also be a "touch a truck" event at the end of August.
Mr. Lombardi said that he would be happy to take any questions.
Karl Fryzel noted that the property has 7 tennis courts, and asked how many will be left after the parking
plan is implemented. Mr. Lombardi said he thinks there are 9 courts — 5 to be repurposed for parking, 2
adjacent to those. NOI for the parking also includes removing half a tennis court with a backboard. There are
also 2 courts that are up top adjacent to the swimming pool, and afull-size basketball court. In terms of
recreational amenities, we expect to have lots of conversations about these courts, and lots of residents to
express a desire for pickleball courts. Mr. Lombardi noted a problem with the 2 courts near the pool —the
nearby swimming pool is an Olympic sized pool, but there is no parking at the pool. In order to open up the
pool, parking has to be determined. There is interest in opening up the pool next summer and parking will be
central to that. Mr. Lombardi added that there would have to be significant capital investment to make the
courts near the beach usable.
Gary Christen asked if the Town will issue a different sticker to cover resident parking. Mr. Lombardi
answered that the regular resident beach parking passes will be checked at the gate on the way in. The Town
is not issuing stickers for short term beach parking access, it will be done online —only Brewster residents
can receive the sticker, simplifying matters.
Pat Hughes asked if, in the context of the school consolidation discussions, when the committee will engage
with the Town about complimenting the activities at the Sea Camps with what might take place at the Eddy
School building. Mr. Lombardi responded that the school have just had initial conversations about next steps,
and there is no timeline yet. But the notion of a community center would connect back to those discussions
—the focus of the committee is the uses of this property and how that fits into the bigger picture. Katie
Miller added that the school consolidation study was begun before the Sea Camps project came onto the
radar, and they have no timeline at this stage. Amanda Bebrin noted that VPC was involved in tying some of
these things together, and she was happy to help with that, particularly in the context of the Local
Comprehensive Plan.
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Ms. Spade -Aguilar asked if bike racks will be in place this summer, and how bike users and pedestrians
accessing the beach could prove their residency. Mr. Lombardi responded that the Town will allow resident
access for bike users and pedestrians, and we are discussing ways of verifying residency for people accessing
the property in these ways. We have also been working through the Millstone Road improvement project for
the last couple of years, and the Select Board is scheduled to talk about next steps for that project at their
meeting next Monday. We will have a sense of what bike and pedestrian access will look like very soon.
Mr. Lombardi added that the Town has had extensive conversations with the Department of Conservation
and Recreation about providing bike access from the Rail Trail down to Linnell Landing. This project has been
designed at the conceptual level, but we haven't yet identified funding. But the state has continued to
express support and interest in the project. This extension, if it goes ahead, could also lead to the possibility
of creating a multiuse path from Linnell Landing to the Sea Camps property.
Mr. Fryzel asked if the stickers will be used to verify whether someone is a resident. Mr. Lombardi confirmed
that this would be the case.
Open Meeting Law Reminder
Mr. Lombardi stated that the AG's Open Meeting Law was included in the packet. It is important to remind
people of what the state considerations are, and that people are sensitive to this law.
Selectperson Chaffee added that an Open Meeting Law violation would occur if a majority of the committee
met in one place at the same time and discussed an issue either on the agenda or expected to come up on a
future agenda. It is not permitted for the committee to have a private conversation about a public decision.
Serial discussions between committee members would also count as a violation of the Open Meeting Law.
Mr. Lombardi added that committee members should not "reply all" to emails offering personal opinions on
a particular issue. This rule also applies to texts and personal email accounts.
Discuss Upcoming Meeting Schedule &Format
Mr. Lombardi stated that the committee discussed meeting on the 1St and 3rd Tuesdays of the month at 4pm,
and this seems to be a time that works for everyone. For the next couple of months, we're looking at just
meeting once a month. Having the consulting team on board will be critical to our work. Both of the
committees will have separate site visits to both properties next month. Mr. Lombardi added that the
standing time for this will be Tuesday May 17 at 4pm, and committee members should let us know if this
does not work. This will be a more extensive tour than what was offered to the public back in September.
The committee will meet again in June and at that point the Town expects to have more clarity from the
state as to whether or not the remote participation rule will change. In July we expect to transition to
meeting a couple of times a month.
Pat Hughes asked if there will bean option of allowing people to attend over Zoom during the summer. Mr.
Lombardi responded that the standard remote participation provisions allow for a minority of the board and
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committee members to participate remotely, but that the Chair must be physically present. Even if the state
were to default back to earlier requirements, the Town has both the ability and technology for people to
attend the meetings remotely.
Discuss Future Meeting Agenda Items
Mr. Lombardi noted that he does not intend to Chair these meetings in future. In June there will be an
election of officers on the agenda for the committee's consideration. Any other agenda items should be sent
to Mr. Lombardi and they can be added to the agenda.
Mr. Fryzel asked if it is the intention that this committee will not be involved with the selection of
consultants. Mr. Lombardi replied that there will be some involvement — the selection process has not been
clearly defined. There are state procurement processes the Town has to follow, but there are exemptions to
these requirements. There will be some involvement of committee, but not a full committee process to
interview the firms. Mr. Lombardi added that the process will not be too far along for the committee to give
input at the June meeting, and if something comes up at that's time sensitive, we'll share it out at our site
visits.
Selectperson Chaffee asked if Mr. Lombardi could discuss the naming of the beach. Mr. Lombardi explained
that a beach naming contest was launched, and the Town received over 550 submissions from Brewster
residents. He anticipates that the Select Board will discuss a shortlist at their May 9 meeting, and then we
will see from there what the process is. The naming process should be completed in time for the summer
with the planned opening of that beach.
Matters Not Reasonably Anticipated by the Chair:
None
Next Meetings:
May 17, 2022 (Site Visit), 4pm
Adjournment
Selectperson Chaffee moved to adjourn at 6:08pm. Selectperson Chatelain second. A roll call vote was taken.
John Phillips — yes, Clare O'Connor Rice — yes, Peter Johnson — yes, Karl Fryzel — yes, Pat Hughes — yes,
Amanda Bebrin — yes, Selectperson Chatelain — yes, Selectperson Chaffee — yes.
Respectfully submitted by Conor Kenny, Project Manager
Approved:
07 / 20 / 2022
Date
Signed:
Accompanying Documents in Packet: Agenda, Committee Member List and Participant Roles, Overview of Brewster's Acquisition of the
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Former Cape Cod Sea Camps, Sea Camps Planning Committee Charges, Cape Cod Sea Camps Acquisition Plan Alignment, Cape Cod Sea
Camps Public Forum Slides, Review of Reed Hilderbrand Documents, Community Planning Grant Information, Sea Camps Property
Manager Documents, Memorandum on Short-term Public Access, Coastal Engineering Scope, RDA Removal of Boat House and Gazebo,
NOI Filing Package, Sea Camps Parking Site Plan, Stormwater Report— Sea Camps Parking, Open Meeting Law Guide and Educational
Materials
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