HomeMy Public PortalAboutCommunity Preservation Committee -- 2015-03-11 Minutes -
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VOTE: 5-0-2
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Brewster, Massachusetts 02631-1898
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COMMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMITTEE
Regular Meeting held on Wednesday, March 11, 2015 at 4:30 p.m.
at The Brewster Town Office Building, 2198 Main Street, Brewster, MA
MEETING MINUTES
Present: Vice-Chair Jeanne Boehm, Joan Carstanjen, Peter Johnson, Elizabeth Taylor, William
Klein, and Roland Bassett.
Absent: Paul Ruchinskas, Elliott Carr, and Dion Dugan.
Also present: Rob Williams, Sally Gunning, Eric Dray and others
The Vice-Chair called the meeting to order at 4:30 pm
Recording or Taping Notification
"As required by the Open Meeting Law we are informing you that the Town will be audio taping this public meeting. In
addition, if anyone else intends to either video or audio tape this meeting they are required to inform the chair." We
request that all cell phones be turned off or to vibrate.
1) Review and approval of March 4th minutes
Motion made by Peter Johnson to approve the March 4, 2015 meeting minutes as amended.
Roland Bassett seconded.
VOTE: 6-0-0
2) Discussion and vote on funding requests:
a) Brewster Cemetery Association - Lower Road tombstone repair and restoration: This
application was reviewed at the last meeting and the Brewster Cemetery Association gave
a presentation. The vote was held pending the recommendation of the Brewster Historical
Commission that a preservation restriction be put in place. After checking with the state
and the CPC consultant Eric Dray it was determined that a preservation restriction was not
necessary on a cemetery restoration. There was no further discussion on the issue. Joan
Carstanjen recused herself from the vote.
Motion made by Roland Bassett to accept the Lower road tombstone repair and
restoration application as presented. Peter Johnson seconded.
VOTE: 5-0-0
b) Brewster Historical Society - Cobb House renovation: Sally Gunning gave an overview
of the work to be done in the Cobb House. There are two areas of the house whereby six
rooms have not been touched. Historical items in the house will not be touched. Walls
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Meeting Minutes of March 11, 2015 Page 1 of 5
will be repaired and painted with any lead paint being remediated. The beehive oven will
not be touched. Some broken panes will be repaired with restoration glass. Two
windowsills will be replaced. The shutters will be removed, cleaned up and replaced.
The part of the house that is more modern will house the gift shop and be used for
children's activities as well as demonstrations. The kitchen will be moved to the east rear
of the building and will be out of sight. A half—bath will be updated and the full bath will
be removed and the area used for storage. Another bathroom and closet will be remodeled
to a printing room.
Outside the clapboards are in good shape but there appears to be 3 different sizes of
clapboards on the building and any replacements will be milled to look as they were
originally. The basement skirt trim will need to be milled so it is in keeping with the age
of the house. There will need to be an ADA access ramp up to the house though other
areas of ADA requirements, the house is exempt due to it being a historical property. The
Fire Department has requested that the front walk be extended to the street to
accommodate any emergency calls to the property and that the driveway be expanded and
the rear of the house be graveled to accommodate a fire truck.
The Historical Commission was unable to meet to review the application on the Cobb
House and has asked for a meeting with the Historical Society and for the final vote to be
put off until the Fall Town Meeting. There was a discussion on how this should proceed.
Joan Carstanjen read the following information into the record.
George Boyd:
"Since the necessary information on compliance with the guidelines is not included in the
BHS proposal I believe it would be illegal for the CPC to approve this request. Also, since
they do not plan to have the work finished on the Cobb House until late next winter I see
no reason to ram this thru upcoming Town meeting when the fall meeting should be soon
enough and would give them time to complete the proposal in a proper manner.
So I suggest a negative vote if it comes to that."
Jeffery Hayes:
"When I questioned their figures, .........they basically blew me off stating these estimates
were accurate based on expert advice, etc."
Now it is so last minute there is no time for BHC consideration! Your meeting tonight is
just a formality.. Please vote no."
The consensus of the Community Preservation Committee was that when the house was
purchased, it was known that this would be a two-part process and that the Historical
Society would be returning to the CPC for restoration funds following the purchase of the
Cobb House that took place on February 17, 2015. There was discussion on CPC
requirements with regard to financial information. As soon as the Historical Society
raises $150,000, there will be a matching grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Society.
The purchase and sale agreement was signed on July 8, 2014. The CPC will be spelling
out all of the restrictions and stipulations both in the warrant article and in the agreement
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Meeting Minutes of March 11, 2015 Page 2 of 5
award letter consistent with the Secretary of the Interior Standards for Rehabilitation as
required by the CPA.
Eric Dray, Historical Consultant to the CPC reviewed his analysis of the Cobb House CPC
application as outlined in his memorandum to the Brewster Community Preservation
Committee dated March 10, 2015. There was a brief review of the foundation materials. A
structural engineer has been hired and Eric would like to confirm any conclusions that the
structural engineer decides. Eric Dray recommendations were reviewed and discussed. It
was suggested that the original color of the house be determined and return to that color.
There was discussion on the structural and insulation building code standard and Secretary
of the Interior rehabilitation standards govern the use of CPA funds. It was recommended
to make sure that the painter is certified to abate lead paint. Eric Dray also recommended
that the restoration work start sooner rather than later for the benefit of the house.
There was further review of the proposed work and the preservation restriction. It is not
recommended that the applicant's lawyer draft the preservation restriction and Eric Dray
would be agreeable to draft the preservation restriction for the town. He would be looking
for current photographs and an updated Inventory Form B for the building and guidelines
to be developed. Once a preservation restriction is drafted it should be shared with the
Historical Society, the Historical Commission, and the Community Preservation
Committee. A restriction could be drafted within the next two months and then it would
require to be reviewed by everyone involved and also the state. Restrictions are
conditions imposed by the town and should not be negotiable and should be specifically
stipulated in the agreement. It is also suggested that a recapture clause be included in the
preservation restriction. There was further discussion on the waiting until the fall to grant
money to the project vs. getting the project started as soon as possible and done according
the Secretary of the Interior standards. There was discussion on how to present the
motion.
Motion made by Peter Johnson to approve $100,000 towards the application that the
Brewster Historical Society has made and the condition that the CPC application approved
under such terms and conditions as the CPC may require. The granting of this money is
tied to a preservation restriction that would cover the building exterior, and the front two
rooms on the first and second floor together with the front entrance hall, stair and upper
landing, and the kitchen fireplace. Vote is subject to a preservation restriction including a
recapture provision should the Brewster Historical Society sell the Cobb house so that
$100,000 of this grant will be returned to the town. William Klein seconded.
Motion amended by Peter Johnson to add"landscaping". William Klein seconded.
Motion amended by Peter Johnson to clarify the recapture language and delete
"preservation restriction". William Klein seconded.
Motion made by Peter Johnson to approve$100,000 towards the application that the
Brewster Historical Society has made and the condition that the CPC application
approved under such terms and conditions as the CPC may require. The granting of
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this money is tied to a preservation restriction that would cover the building exterior,
and the front two rooms on the first and second floor together with the front
entrance hall, stair and upper landing, the kitchen fireplace and landscaping. And
would also include a recapture provision in case the Brewster Historical Society sells
the Cobb house so that$100,000 of the grant will be returned to the town. William
Klein seconded.
VOTE: 5-1-0
3) Review and approval of warrant summaries for spring town meeting
There was a review and discussion of the Annual Town Meeting CPC Warrant Articles edit date
of March 5, 2015.
At this point, one member left the meeting.
Article 6 Item 1 a was reviewed and it was suggested to add a reference that there will be a
preservation restriction. If approved at town meeting these funds will be available as of July 1,
2015. There was discussion on what CPC funds would be able to be used to pay for and these
items could be outlined in the award letter. This will be determined tomorrow.
Special Town Meeting Warrant Articles were reviewed and these funds will be available
immediately following Town Meeting if approved.
At this point another member left the meeting.
There was a review of Annual Town Meeting Warrant Article No. 6 and the individual items.
The Summaries for each item were reviewed.
Town Council is reviewing Article 28 and Article 29 on Land Acquisition and Elizabeth Taylor
is awaiting word on any necessary changes.
Article 32 refers to the reallocation of CPA fund balances. There was discussion on the 30
percent funds that usually are unavailable for use for about six months. The Committee was
asked to let Elizabeth Taylor know if they found any changes to the Warrant articles before
March 13, 2015.
4) Items the chair could not reasonably anticipate
There were no other topics discussed.
5)Next meeting: March 28, 2015
The meeting adjourned at approximately 5:50 pm.
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Meeting Minutes of March 11, 2015 Page 4 of 5
Respectfully submitted,
Donna Moberg, Recor ing Secretary
Items distributed for this meeting:
• Minutes of March 4, 2015
• Eric Dray, Preservation Consultant Cobb House application
analysis dated March 10, 2015
• FY '15 CPC Budget
• FY '16 CPC Budget
• CPC Project List
• Draft CPC Warrant Articles
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Meeting Minutes of March 11,2015 Page 5 of 5