HomeMy Public PortalAboutCommunity Preservation Committee -- 2014-06-25 Minutes Approved: 4-0-1
Date: 07-23-2014
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COMMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMITTEE
Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, June 25, 2014 at 4:30 p.m.
at The Brewster Town Office Building, 2198 Main Street, Brewster, MA
Video&Audio Recording or Taping Notification: "As required by the Open Meeting Law we are informing you
that the Town will be audio taping this meeting. In addition if anyone else intends to either video or audio tape this
meeting they are required to inform the chair."
Present: Paul Ruchinskas, Elliott Carr, Roland Bassett, Jeanne Boehm, George
Boyd, William Klein and Elizabeth Taylor.
Also present: Jillian Douglass, Sally Gunning and Steve Jones representing the
Historical Society, Chris Miller, and Peter Johnson
Absent: Dion Dugan
The Chair called the meeting to order at 4:30 pm
Mr. Boyd, the new CPC member representing the Historical Committee was
welcomed and introduced to the Committee members.
AGENDA
1. Approval of minutes 5/28/14
2. Commitment Letters
a. Brewster Baptist Church
b. Historical Society
c. Breakwater Beach
3. Reorganization
4. CPC Finances/Treasurer's Report
5. Topics the Chair did not reasonably anticipate
6. Schedule of the next meeting
7. Adjournment
1. Approval of minutes 5/28/14
Motion made by Paul Ruchinskas to approve the minutes of May 28, 2014
as presented. Roland Bassett seconded.
VOTE: 6-0-0
2. Commitment Letters
a. Brewster Baptist Church: There was discussion on the Brewster
Baptist Church commitment letter. The money approved is for the
historic restoration of the steeple. The application dated December
30, 2013 was reviewed. The CPC award is for $200,000 and the
money is to be used for historic parts of the project. Elliott Carr
will be the liaison to the project and Paul Ruchinskas will make
minor changes to first draft of the commitment letter. It is
recommended that a Historic Preservation Restriction be placed on
the project.
Motion made by Paul Ruchinskas to approve the Brewster Baptist Church
commitment letter to include the minor changes discussed. Roland Bassett
seconded.
VOTE: 6-0-0 (one committee member arrived following this vote)
b. Historical Society: There was discussion on the Historical Society
letter and Steve Jones raised the question about why $50,000 of the
award was being withheld. The purchase and sale agreement reads
that all funds for the purchase and the required permits to be in
place before the closing date in September. Due to problems with
past projects, the CPC has a policy of having some to their funds
the last funds into a project. The total project cost is estimated at
$720,000. The application to the CPC is for funds to be used for
the purchase of the Cobb House. Two state grants were applied for
and one of them has not been approved. The ceiling on the second
grant is for $100,000. A Historic Preservation restriction should be
placed in the commitment letter. Quarterly reports should be
required and added to the commitment letter. Problems with the
project were discussed and the major issues that needed to be
resolved before the purchase goes forward. The money will not be
spent unless the building can be used as a museum and the site
plan is approved. This money will be used to preserve a historic
building in the town. Best case the building will be opened as a
museum next summer. There was a request to have an estimate on
the money necessary to get the building ready to use it as a
museum. The applicant will need to provide the Historic
Preservation restriction. The expected use of the CPC funds will
be for the purchase of the building only. The Historical Society
has $100,000 set aside for renovation. It is felt that the Historical
Society position is stronger if the CPC money can be used for
acquisition. A number of issues raised will need to be resolved
before the purchase can go forward. Unless all of the permits are
received to allow for the use of the Cobb House as a museum, the
purchase will not take place. Some worse case scenarios were
briefly discussed.
Motion made by Roland Bassett to allow all $350,000 to be put toward the
acquisition of the purchase of the Cobb House provided all of the money
for the purchase has been raised and permits are in hand. William Klein
seconded.
VOTE: 6-0-1
The unspent CPC money for the Blacksmith Shop move ($2, 515.88) will be
returned to the Historic Preservation budget.
c. Breakwater Beach: Chris Miller reviewed the two grants he
received from the state. The first grant was for review and/or
investigation into the status of Brewster's coastline. The second
grant is entirely for the Breakwater Beach restoration. This grant
was reduced by $45,000 due to some project duplication with the
first grant. CPC monies of$59,675 were requested as local match
for the Breakwater project. The Breakwater Beach parking lot will
be moved and rebuilt approximately 140 feet further back from the
ocean. The area in front of the parking lot will be re-established as
a dune. Chris reviewed the scope of the work to be completed at
the beach. Breakwater will continue to erode, but this work will
help to absorb damage done by harsh weather. An engineer will
be needed to design this project. Emergency access will not be
compromised by this project. There was extensive discussion of
vehicle access to the beach. A permit needs to be approved by the
Selectmen in order for vehicles to access the beach. It was decided
to remove stipulation #3 with regard to the gate and in item #5 to
extend the completion of the project to two years in the
commitment letter.
Motion made by Roland Bassett to remove item #3 requiring a gate
from the commitment letter. William Klein seconded.
VOTE: 6-1-0
Motion made by Roland Bassett to extend the project completion
deadline (Item #5) from one year to two years. William Klein
seconded.
VOTE 7-0-0
There was a brief discussion on other stipulations in the letter. There is an
amendment procedure in place should any changes need to be made to the
project. It was decided that no other changes needed to be made to the letter.
Motion made by Roland Bassett to move the commitment letter with
voted changes. Jean Boehm seconded.
VOTE: 6-1-0
3. Reorganization
Elliott Can is stepping down as chair.
Motion made by Elizabeth Taylor to nominate Paul Ruchinskas as
chair. Roland Bassett seconded.
VOTE: 7-0-0
Motion made by Elizabeth Taylor to nominate Jean Boehm as vice-
chair. Roland Bassett seconded.
VOTE: 7-0-0
Motion made by Roland Bassett to nominate Elizabeth Taylor as
clerk/treasurer. Jean Boehm seconded.
VOTE: 7-0-0
4. CPC Finances/Treasurer's Report
Elizabeth Taylor passed out and reviewed the Treasurer's reports for FY
'14 and FY '15. Lisa Souve will be asked to come to the next CPC
meeting and explain the "4th bucket 30%" fund. Elizabeth distributed a
list of all projects approved for review. Money that is not spent is
retained in each account. The four areas are Open Space, Historic
Preservation, Community Housing, and Recreation (which is comes from
the 30% fund).
5. Topics the Chair did not reasonably anticipate
Paul Ruchinskas updated the committee on the status of the Habitat for
Humanity purchase. The purchase and sale agreement has been signed
with the sellers. The prospective closing date is August 13, 2014. There
are a number of stipulations in the purchase and sale agreement that will
need to be either agreed to or denied by the CPC.
The application needs to be updated with new members and the new
deadlines.
6. Schedule of the next meeting
The next meeting will be scheduled for Wednesday, July 23, 2014 at 4:30
pm.
7. Adjournment
Motion made by Roland Bassett to adjourn the meeting at 6:00 pm.
George Boyd seconded.
VOTE: 7-0-0
Respectfully submitted,
iar).z
Donna J. Moberg
Recording Secretary