Loading...
HomeMy Public PortalAboutCommunity Preservation Committee -- 2015-06-10 Minutes VAAAAAd�ti5��1'illllil;Illfpllrl \\ � w Approved: 7/08/15 ze�At VOTE: 6-0-1 ~o " n 2198 Main Street _ Brewster, Massachusetts 02631-1898 E9 (508) 896-3701 "°uaurrtu:ir,iutaiu"`\ FAX (508) 896-8089 COMMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMITTEE will hold a Regular Meeting on Wednesday, June 10, 2015 at 4:30 p.m. at The Brewster Town Office Building, 2198 Main Street, Brewster, MA MEETING MINUTES OF JUNE 10, 2015 Present: Chair Paul Ruchinskas, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Carstanjen, William Klein, Jeanne Boehm, Peter Johnson, and Roland Bassett. Also present: Tom George and Assistant Town Administrator Jillian Douglas The Chair called the meeting to order at 4:30 pm Recoi-ding or Taping Notification "As required by the Open Meeting Lmk,we are iy forming3,ou 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." !f'e request that all cell phones be tanned off or to vibrate. 1. Approve minutes of May 13, 2015 meeting. Motion made by Roland Bassett to approve the May 13, 2015 as amended. Peter Johnson seconded. VOTE: 7-0-0 The meeting moved to item #3. 2. Presentation by Eric Dray on CPC requirements for a historic preservation rehabilitation project. Eric Dray made a PowerPoint presentation on the CPC requirements for historic preservation rehabilitation. He distributed to the Committee the Secretary of Interior Standards for Rehabilitation outline of the standards. He reviewed the four treatment approaches used by the National Park Services: Preservation, Restoration, Reconstruction, and Rehabilitation. Preservation is the strictest level and freezes a building in time and limits materials used. Restoration brings a building back to a previous period in time that must be documented. CPC Meeting Minutes of June 10, 2015 Page 1 of 4 Reconstruction is reserved for essential buildings that have been lost. Rehabilitation is the treatment standard used in a number of ways. National Historic Preservation Act passed in 1966 and there was a brief review of how it was implemented and the changes made to accommodate the Act along the way including the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation standards published in 1977. That last significant changes were made in 1992. The Committee should be using the Rehabilitation standards when reviewing a project. There was a review of the ten rehabilitation standards with examples demonstrated in the PowerPoint presentation. There was a review of the potential costs to update Brewster's historic records and CPC monies may be used to update these records and could cost upwards of $100,000. A survey report inventorying all the areas and buildings in town over 50 years old should be done and then the buildings should be viewed and prioritized starting with the 18th an 19t" century buildings. There is a set of these surveys in the Library and Building Department in paper form that need to be updated, as they probably do not contain the information currently necessary. This is a long process and could be started in the Assessor Department by printing out a list of properties and identifying those of most importance. Due to online tools available, ancestry of families and title searches can be done on historic properties. There was a review of allowable replacement windows and the allowance of alternative materials. It would be wise for the CPC to develop its own specifications. Cleaning methods are very important for masonry work including burial grounds and cemeteries. Additions to a building need to be done in a respectful way to the integrity of the original building. Site work is important to keep with the historic nature of a building and the creation of parking areas was used as an example. Standard 6 was reviewed. "Deteriorated historic features will be repaired rather than replaced. Where the severity of deterioration requires replacement of a distinctive feature the new feature will match the old in design, color, texture, and where possible materials. Replacement of missing features will be substantiated by documentary and physical evidence". By using CPC funds, projects could be held to a higher standard of materials being used. There was discussion on preservation restrictions. Preservation restrictions are a judgment call by the CPC and the goal is to protect the town's investment. 3. Discussion and possible vote on housing buy-down fund assistance for 20 Yankee Drive. Julian Douglas distributed a recommendation letter from the Brewster Housing Partnership Group to the Chair in support of Katharin Cook's application for the by-down for 20 Yankee Drive. There was a review of the CPC application and this request is for CPC Meering Minutes of June 10, 2015 Page 2 of 4 $30,000 that is the maximum allowed. It appears that there will be a cost of $4,125 to the HECH and Ms. Cook has made a down payment of $10,000. There will also be closing costs. The purchase price of $165,000 is considered affordable. The deed restriction will determine the sales price based on the determined median income at the time it is sold. There was discussion on how much should be awarded and how much was actually required. There was a brief review of past awards. The applicant is pre-approved by the bank for $150,000. The Brewster Housing Partnership does not have a formula for what a person can afford. The closing date is July 24, 2015 and there was discussion on clarifying what is necessary for the acquisition. It appears that any money from the CPC will be used to reduce her mortgage amount. There was discussion on how much money the CPC will allocate in total for these awards. Concern expressed about the Committee operating in an arbitrary way. Motion made by Peter Johnson to authorize $20,000. Joan Carstanjen seconded. There was discussion on the need for additional information regarding this request before it is awarded. Peter Johnson withdrew his motion and Joan Carstanjen withdrew her second. The meeting moved back to Item #2. 4. Vote on professional services request- open space. Elizabeth Taylor presented the professional services request for $4,000 for an appraisal. Motion made by Roland Bassett to approve the professional services request for $4,000 for Open Space. Jeanne Boehm seconded. VOTE: 7-0-0 5. Vote on professional services request- FY 15 historic preservation consulting. Paul Ruchinskas reviewed the FY '15 historic preservation consulting professional services costs. Motion made by Peter Johnson to approve the FY '15 historic preservation consulting request for $2,000. Roland Bassett seconded. VOTE: 7-0-0 6. Vote on professional services request- FY 16 historic preservation consulting. Paul Ruchinskas reviewed professional services request for FY '16 Motion made by Roland Bassett to approve the FY '16 historic preservation consulting professional services request for $10,000. Elizabeth Taylor seconded. VOTE: 7-0-0 CPC Meeting Minutes of June 10, 2015 Page 3 of 4 7. Discussion and vote on revised CPC award policies. Paul Ruchinskas reviewed the policies and procedures and his change. Motion made by Roland Bassett to approve the language change of adding "Town- sponsored Open Space Awards". Jeanne seconded. VOTE: 7-0-0 8. Update on Town Meeting award grant agreements. Elizabeth Taylor recused herself from this discussion. Paul Ruchinskas reviewed the status of the grant agreements by the town attorney. There is a question as to whether this rehab repair program is an appropriate use of CPC funds. There are currently two HECH repair applications. The town attorney will be researching this issue further before the applications can be acted on. There was discussion on how different towns are handling this process. Paul Ruchinskas will report back to the Committee with a final determination. 9. Update on membership. The position vacated by Elliott Carr as well as the Housing Authority representative position are both currently open on the CPC Committee. 10. Any other items the chair could not reasonably anticipate. Work in the cemetery is time sensitive and the Lower Road Cemetery will front the money and be reimbursed by the CPC. The agreement is waiting to be signed. The next meeting will be scheduled for July 8, 2015. Motion made by Peter Johnson to adjourn the meeting at 6:00 pm. Roland Bassett seconded. VOTE: 7-0-0 Respectfully submitted, Donna Moberg, Recording Secretary Items used at meeting: • Draft Minutes of May 13, 2015 • 20 Yankee Drive Buy down application • Recommendation letter from the Brewster Housing Partnership • Eric Dray Consulting's outline of Standards for Brewster CPC and the Historic Commission • Possible Land Acquisition application • Historic Consulting for FY '15 application • Historic Consulting for FY '16 application • CPC Award Policies Draft dated 6/10/2015 CPC Meeting Minutes of June 10, 2015 Page 4 of 4